Lean on Me
by SorainaSkye
Summary: Secrets of the past are revealed as Squall and Rinoa are forced to take care of the other when they are seperated from their teammates. Trust leads to friendship, and Friendship leads to...Love? End of Disc 2 to End of Game. On hiatus.
1. Lead Me

Lean on Me

A Squall/Rinoa Story

_**We are teenagers fighting in a war against a power-crazy sorceress. A sorceress we used to know as Matron, who watched over us kindly as we grew in an orphanage. And now we have to kill her. Kill our Matron. **_

_**How did we end up like this? How did I get this way…?**_

"Yo, Squall," A man with spiked blonde hair called. Zell, of course. The hyperactive, slightly foul-mouthed, martial artist. "The others are making camp, they wanna know who's taking the first watch."

A man with brown hair and stormy blue eyes jerked his head away from the Cliffside he had been gazing so intently over. The man, Squall Leonheart, sighed, rubbing the back of his neck wearily.

_**How did I end up being leader…?**_

"I don't know Zell…I'll do it I suppose…"

Zell cocked an eyebrow at his introverted friend. "Haven't you been the first like…EVERY night, man?" Squall shrugged, unconcerned.

"Well, he's not going to be alone this time," a female voice said cheerfully.

Both men jumped, turning to greet their newest companion, considering everyone else had know each other nearly all their lives. A beautiful teenage girl with long dark hair and equally dark eyes smiled brightly at her friends. Squall found himself, once again, stunned by her presence. He had felt the same way at their meeting, unable to take his eyes off her, merely for the fact that even he could tell that he had never met anyone like her.

Raised in the bowels of Galabadia, her father being the General of the army, the seventeen-year-old had run away from her home, become part of a resistance called the Forest Owls that fought to free citizens of a town called Timber from Galabadia's tyranny, and had hired SeeD to help her movement, from then on fighting with the very people she hired, as one of their own. Among her fellow Forest Owls she had been called 'Princess', and though she seemed weary of the title, it fit her well. Squall recalled, as he gazed at the beaming young woman before him, their first meeting. Mostly, he remembered her eyes. How they had looked him head on, peering into his very existence as casually as one might look through a clear window. She could look at you, and just…see things there, things that the person hardly ever knew were even there. She just knew.

"How are you going to stay awake, Rinoa?" Zell asked, looking at the girl curiously.

"You're not used to pulling all-nighters like Squall."

Rinoa just smiled even brighter.

"Easy. I drank about five pounds of caffeine."

Zell laughed, shaking his head. With a glance back at Squall, he winked at Rinoa. "Staying up all night with Squall…girl, you're gonna need it."

Rinoa rolled her eyes, a slight giggle escaping her lips. "I should get in the habit anyway. I need to be on my toes out here." Zell shrugged comfortably. "It's you're choice. I recommend keeping some of that caffeine though…" With another laugh, he joined their friends in setting up the various tents.

Rinoa laughed, shaking her head slightly. "I'd hate to see what he'd be like with a dose of caffeine…maybe he shouldn't eat so many Hot Dogs…"

Squall didn't reply, his attention focused on the sheer drop of the cliff yet again. Soft footsteps approached, and with a jerk, he turned his head to look at Rinoa who was approaching him apprehensively, hands clasped behind her back. She smiled slightly at his raised eyebrow.

"We didn't do you any favors when we elected you as leader, did we?"

Squall merely grunted, turning back to the cliff side. He didn't really trust his own words around Rinoa. Either they ended up at each other's throats or he said something else, something that seemed dependant on her. Then, knowing that she expected a response, he grumbled, "…I don't want to solve other people's problems."

Rinoa smiled sadly, coming forward so that she stood beside the stoic commander. Slowly, she raised her hand, clutching the ring on her necklace. She closed her eyes for a moment, seeming to be lost in a far-off memory.

"We chose the right person though."

Squall turned to look at her again, both eyebrows raised now. She opened her eyes, giggling at his slightly incredulous look. She sat down, swinging her legs over the edge of the cliff, motioning for Squall to sit beside her. Grudgingly, he did so, not saying a word, eyes still gazing at the now red-streaked sky of the sunset. Then, abruptly, Rinoa spoke again.

"It's…kind of like the whole Sorceress thing," She said, eyebrows furrowed slightly in thought. "They want to take over the world, so the put themselves in positions of power to get there. When they get that power that they so greedily wanted, chaos ensues." She frowned slightly, drawing her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. Her frown melted into a small smile again as she continued, "But, if you take a guy that's never tried to get there and has lived in the chaos all his life, and put **him** in a position of power, it starts to spread peace." She turned her head to look Squall in the eyes, much like when they had first met, smiling again. "He didn't try to be a leader. He lived in the chaos. He didn't want to be a leader." The smile slid slowly off her face as she tilted her head a little to one side, never breaking contact with his eyes. "He already knew what being a leader was all about. He knew what leaders had to face, what they had to do, and he didn't want any of it. But they looked to him in crisis, and he was leader anyway. He did it anyway. He didn't think he had a choice." Her smile was sad and tired this time. No…not tired. Weary. Confused. Hopeful.

_**When did I get so good at reading her emotions…?**_

Rinoa leaned forward slightly, staring him hard in the eyes. Squall found himself unable to look away, much like their first meeting.

"There's always a choice, Squall."

_**Hell…when did she get so good at reading mine?**_

Rinoa smiled brightly, turning back to the now darkening sky.

_**What do you expect me to do? I can't just walk away…I don't want any of this; I don't want this stupid leader crap. I'm tired of giving orders, I'm sick of everyone needing me to tell them what to do! I'm just so…tired of it all…tired of everything…**_

"Look! It's the first star of the night!"

Squall, jerked out of his thoughts yet again, turned to face Rinoa who was pointing excitedly at a single faint, star in the darkening sky. "Make a wish!"

She bent her head, hands clasped as though in prayer, murmuring quietly to herself. Gazing at the star without comment, Squall was yet again reminded of how he had met the young woman next to him. _**There's irony for you…**_

Rinoa gave a small, contented sigh, sitting up again. Squall found himself subconsciously relaxing, something this strange girl had a habit of making him do. Along with annoying and unsettling the hell out of him too.

Suddenly, Rinoa froze her eyes wide, fingers clenching the dirt. "Squall…" Slowly, she turned her head, staring in horror at something behind him. Honing onto instincts that had been pounded into him by SeeD training, Squall could easily hear the sound of heavy breathing from behind him.

_**Oh shit…**_

There was no time to draw Lionheart, no time to turn and fight the monster, no time to fight back or call for help…

No time to cry out in pain as claws raked across his chest…

No time to be afraid when he felt nothing but air beneath him as he fell…

No time to stop Rinoa from falling after him, screaming while she tried to fight against the abominable creature…

No time to register the cracking sounds that came from his body when he hit the ground…

No time to berate himself for not being more aware…for not being able to stop the creature from throwing Rinoa over the side of the cliff….

No time to wonder what would become of the others as they fought valiantly against the behemoth…

No time…No time to think or feel as Squall Leonheart closed his eyes and knew no more. Only one thought escaped his conciousness as time ran out and ceased to exist.

_**Rinoa…**_

* * *

**Hey! Well...this is going to be a chapter story dealing with Squall and Rinoa having to survive together when Squall is injured. Rinoa now has to protect him! I honestly don't know where this will go...I wrote it on the whim of wanting to get more stories out there. Please Reveiw! Also, I will take any plot suggestions as mine are fairly limited...Thanks!  
**


	2. Know Me

Finally, sorry this took so long. Enjoy!  


* * *

Chapter Two

Know Me

Wind blew lightly through the trees, leaves skirted along the ground, the faded patches of sunlight catching them in a golden-red hue. Dusk descended upon the forest, bestowing upon it the ethereal and peaceful moment of day transcending into night.

The moment was shattered as Rinoa Heartily woke with a start.

Panting as though she had run a great distance, she squinted around herself, trying to make out her surroundings in the dim light. **'Where…?'**

With the force of a speeding train, white-hot pain enveloped her, her shoulder throbbing as she doubled over in pain, tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes. Blinking back another onslaught of tears, Rinoa squeezed her shoulder gently, examining it through another wave of pain.

'**Crap…it's dislocated…I have to pop it back in place…'**

Gritting her teeth, she pushed on her upper arm in what she hoped was the right direction. She gave a small, pain-filled gasp, and found herself lying flat on the ground, breathing raggedly as the pain slowed to a dull ache. Experimentally, she lifted her arm, moving it around in a small circle. Though it was sore, it didn't give any of the painful jabs from before, apparently having been set back right.

'**Whew…that hurt! Stupid ground!'**

Rinoa began to look around herself again, her eyes a little more adjusted to the dim light. "I…fell…"She murmured, eyes half-closed in thought. She frowned. "My injury wasn't that serious…so how did I…?" She closed her eyes as the memory washed over her…

_She was falling, wind whipping in her ears like cold slaps of water. Inside she began to panic, as the ground loomed larger and larger as she sped downward. __**'I have to do something or I'll die!'**__ an idea sprung into her mind, wonderful and sweet with the possibility of survival._

"_Protect!" she called, watching as the blue shield slowly began to go in front of her body…too slowly…Rinoa landed with a resounding thud, heard a loud 'pop' and knew no more…_

"My shoulder must have taken the blunt of the fall," she said, feeling relieved that she had been able to prevent major injury on herself. But then, a thought entered her mind that made her insides freeze with fear…

"So…then…what about…" she gave a sharp intake of breath, jumping to her feet. "Squall!" she shouted, turning her head back and forth in worry, desperately searching for the leader of their group.

'**Oh nooo…this is bad, this is VERY, VERY BAD!!!'**

With her own worried voice screaming in her head, Rinoa ran over the sloping hills and darkening paths, the trees casting longer and longer shadows, until they blended in so that she could not tell the difference between light and dark.

And Squall was nowhere to be found…

'**Rats! This is getting me nowhere…I can't see anything. Squall could be anywhere, in a million situations! I have no idea where I am or how to get out of here! This is not good…'**

"Raugh!" Rinoa pound her fist against the trunk of a tree in her frustration. Panting slightly, she rubbed a hand wearily through her hair. "There's nothing I can do now…I should probably start a fire and—" she gasped as a realization hit her. "Duh! How could I be so stupid! I'll make a torch!" Dropping to her hands and knees, she scrambled blindly, fingers searching for a thick branch or stick to use. "I need a torch to find a torch…" Rinoa muttered as her fingers closed over nothing but dried brush and plants.

"Aha!" Her fingers closed over something long and thin.

"Please don't make this be a snake…" she stumbled to her feet. Unless it was a frozen snake, not to mention a dead one, she was fairly certain that she had grabbed a sturdy piece of lumber. **'Okay…now all I have to do is make sure that I don't light the whole thing on fire…' **taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, concentrating.

"Fire!"

A bright blaze of red light lit up in front of her, for a moment illuminating a clear path above her like a flare. It simmered down, burning at the top of the long and rough bough that seemed to have broken off during a storm, as scorch marks dotted it's bottom rim.

"There…that should last a while…"

Almost as though on a secret command, the fire flickered and died.

"Hyne…You hate me don't you?"

_A young woman with waist-length black hair smiled, walking at the front of a queue of small children. Another woman, older than the children, but much younger than the black-haired woman, walked amongst them, grinning at them all as though they had been a particularly fantastic Christmas present. The children were clustered around her, some fighting to hold her hand and others merely trying to get as close to her as they could._

"_Matwon!" One of the children sobbed, grabbing the oldest woman's skirt in his small hands. "Seifer…Seifer called me a-a-" he gave a great sniff, his blue-green eyes glistening with tears. _

"_SEIFER CALLED ME A POO-POO HEAD!" He wailed, burying his face in her skirt. The woman, Matron, kneeled down, wiping his face gently with her hands. "It's alright Zell," she said gently. "I'll watch Seifer more carefully from now on alright?" Zell nodded, his head bent. Matron tilted his chin up so that he was looking in her dark eyes. "Zell…don't take count when people say mean things. Know that you are a wonderful person and be happy that there are many that care for you." She straightened up. "Elle," she said to the other girl who smiled in response. "Could you watch Seifer extra closely? I'll keep Zell up here with me…" The girl, Ellone though many referred to her as Elle, nodded, turning around to watch a blonde boy with cocky and cold green eyes poke the back of the brown haired boy next to him, smiling innocently at Ellone's raised eyebrow. Ellone sighed. _

"_Seifer, quit bothering Squall and come here please…" Sticking his tongue out at the six-year-old Squall he walked over to Ellone. Putting on his best 'puppy' look, he asked sweetly, "Yes, sis?"_

_Ellone couldn't help the small smile that crossed her face at his wide, innocent eyes. Shaking her head slightly she let a small laugh escape her lips. "Seifer, you'd make a great actor. But at your age…" her smile turned a deadly sweet, Seifer's innocent look replaced by one of terror. "Acting is just a fancy way of lying…and you know how I…__**dislike**__…liars…" Seifer squeaked, nodding his head hurriedly, as though afraid she would bite it off. _

"_So…" Ellone continued, the deadly smile still on her on her face. "You are going to stop bothering Zell and Squall and be a good little boy for the rest of the trip…__**isn't that right!?!**__"_

_Seifer squeaked again, nodding fearfully and scampering away to huddle behind Matron. Matron looked back at Ellone with a raised eyebrow at the cowering Seifer. Ellone giggled. _

"_What can I say? It's good to be the Queen." _ (A/N: For those Mel Brooks fans, you may recognize that line as "It's good to be the king." From 'History of the World, Part 1.')

_Matron rolled her eyes with a 'I don't even want to know' expression. Still laughing, Ellone turned back and smiled kindly at Squall, who gave a small smile back. He was quiet, unlike many of the other children. He always had a far-off look on his face…as though he could see something everyone else could not. Like he was in his own world, and even when he spoke to others, he wasn't really there; he wasn't back from that world. He wasn't sad, just thoughtful. He always seemed to be apart from the other children, and though they mostly made an effort to include him, they also passed him off as something they couldn't understand. __**'And that…'**__ Ellone concluded, __**'Probably does more harm than any of Seifer's taunts…'**__ Sighing slightly, she glanced down at a small brown-haired girl tugging at her summer dress. "Yes Selphie?" The little girl with bright green eyes that, at such a young age, seemed almost too big for her face, pouted. "Irvy bwoked my teddy!" She waved the small brown bear for emphasis. Smiling slightly at the girl's complete unhappiness at the fact that her stuffed bear was now missing an arm. Taking the small girl's hand, she said, "Matron is quite the seamstress. I'm sure she can fix it. Irvine probably didn't mean to hurt your bear. I'm sure he'll apologize." Selphie squealed happily. Looking in delight at the bear in her arms, she exclaimed, "You hear that Mr. Duck? Matwon's gonna make you all better! Then you can kill Irvy!" She skipped away happily toward the only adult among them, waving the bear, Mr. Duck, in her hands as though he was a trophy. Mouth slightly agape, Ellone watched the girl skip off in some amazement. __**'This is sad…I'm scared of a five-year old girl…who named her teddy bear Mr. Duck…yeah…'**__ She slapped a hand to her forehead. "Hyne help me…"_

_They were taking one of the few field trips that the orphanage could afford. They were traveling to Deling City to see the grand opening of the Children's Art Museum. There, children could draw or paint pictures and have them added to the library's collection. At least, during the opening they could. They were staying in a small, but elegant hotel for a few days before it actually opened. The children had been ecstatic at the chance to see such a big city, and had been barely able to contain their excitement. _

"_Hello," Matron said, walking up to the reception desk at the hotel, the La Rinta, "I've got reservations for two rooms, double bed. Under the name Kramer." The blonde woman behind the desk nodded, fingering through a thick hardcover book. "Ah yes! Rooms 102 and 104. Enjoy your stay!" Matron smiled politely at the woman before turning to Ellone. "Elle, here's your key. Make sure that you watch over Squall, Irvine, and Selphie carefully. Don't let them get into trouble." And with that, she handed a small bronze key to the eleven-year-old before walking down the hall, Seifer, Quistis, and Zell hurrying along in her wake. Smiling at the youths gathered around her, she hefted her bag higher up on her shoulder. _

"_Let's get going then." _

_They clambered into an elevator, Selphie jumping with excitement as it began to go up to the second floor. "Wheeeeeeee! I'm flying!" She screamed, waving around her bear as she zoomed around the small enclosure. The elevator stopped and the doors slid open, Selphie racing out the door as though her pants were on fire. "I call the window beeeeeeeed!" she called back, running to the end of the hall._

"_Sefie!" Ellone called, pointing the other direction. "Our room is this way."_

_Selphie screeched to a halt. "Oh. I knew that. I was just, uhh, testing you! Yeah! That's it!" She turned on her heel and sped the opposite direction, meeting their Sis as she slid the key into the doorknob and opened the door. The children, save for Squall, sprang into the room, throwing their things on the beds before climbing over to the window and peering excitedly out at the city before them._

"_WooooooooW" They chorused, noses pressed flat against the glass. Ellone laughed, dropping her bag on the bed near the window where Selphie's bright yellow kitten bag lay jumbled across it. She joined them at the window, gazing in admiration at the bright lights of the city below._

_Unbeknownst to her, Squall took this opportunity to slip quietly out of the room after throwing his bag on the floor._

_He didn't really know where he was going; all he knew was that he wanted to get away from the others and the differences between himself and them. He didn't really know what it was; he just knew that he was different. They didn't think like he did, or see things the way he did. They were his friends, but among them he was already an outcast, not understood, passed off as different and unlike. He knew it was true, but he didn't understand why it made him feel this way. After all, everyone was different, right?_

_No one bothered him as he walked across the lobby, looking for somewhere to be. He noticed a stairway that was roped off with a sign that said __**'Preparing for next Show' **__in big red letters. It seemed to be the perfect place for him to go. Not even caring if someone caught him going down there, he slipped under the rope and jogged down the stairs._

_Squall found himself standing on a landing overlooking what seemed to be a theater. A good-sized stage lay across the room, with a number of straight-backed chairs for an orchestra in front of it. Many small round tables spread out same ways away from that space. A piano sat on the stage, with a microphone at the ready beside it. The dark red curtain beside the stage swished as three figures walked through, two adults, one child. The child was a girl, around Squall's age, with long dark hair that had been braided with wildflowers, and big brown eyes that overflowed with playfulness and joy. She giggled and twirled around, her bright blue summer dress flaring out as the adults talked with their backs to her. _

_Squall found himself moving closer to the railing and peering over at the girl. She just seemed so…happy. Even Selphie wasn't like that. Selphie was just hyper. This girl…carried joy with her. Suddenly, she looked up at him, and her eyes locked with his. She looked surprised, but smiled brightly, her eyes shining even more. Squall couldn't look away. Her eyes were just so…different. So…unique…unlike anything he had ever seen before. The girl broke the eye contact, running over to one of the conversing women and tugging at her red dress. The woman stopped in mid-conversation and bent her knees so that she was level with the girl. The girl leaned forward and whispered something into her ear. She pulled her face away and smiled at Squall, waving. The older woman laughed and nodded, turning and waving to a slightly bemused Squall. With a jump of joy, the girl raced off the stage and under the balcony that Squall currently stood on. Barely a moment had passed when he heard footsteps coming from behind him. Turning, he saw the girl from below panting slightly from running, though still smiling happily at him. "Hi!" She said, waving vigorously and bouncing over to him. Squall didn't say anything, merely stared. What was she doing up here?_

"_Whatcha' doin'?" she asked, stepping closer and putting her arms behind her back, looking at him as though she was examining something interesting and rare. Squall shrugged. "Thinking." The girl frowned, her bottom lip jutting out so that she looked, for lack of any other word, unbearably cute. _

"_Why are you all alone?" Squall shrugged, unable to take her searching gaze any longer, he turned away and sat so that his legs dangled over the edge of the balcony. The girl didn't leave. Instead, her footsteps approached again, and before Squall really knew what was happening, she was beside him. "I like thinking too," She said, and Squall found himself looking again into her smiling face. "But not too often. Mommy says it's not good to think too much." Her eyes were wide as though she had just revealed her darkest secret. "What do you think about?" _

_Her questions were so innocent; Squall found himself not only answering them, but also having no desire to get her to leave either. "…Everything…" His answer was short, and had he told anyone else, they would have demanded to know more, but all she did was nod as though it was the perfect answer. His mouth moved without his knowledge. _

"_What do you think about?"_

_The girl gave a small smile, and unlike her other ones, it seemed sad. "My daddy." She said, twirling her finger in her hair idly. "He's gone lotsa' the time. Mommy and I don' see him much. He missed my birthday, and Mommy's day too. He always says sorry, but I dunno what he means." She paused, cocking her head at Squall before saying, "What 'bout your parents?" Squall found himself surprised and unsure. He didn't have parents, he knew that. But he had never thought to ask Matron about them._

"_I don't know." It was true; he knew nothing about his parents. The girl seemed distressed by the news. "But you gots to know! They're your mommy and daddy!"_

_Squall shrugged again before replying. "I don't gots either of those." _

_The girl was silent at his announcement. Looking over at her, Squall saw that she was deep in thought. For a moment he thought she hadn't heard him, but she suddenly brightened. "I'll be your Mommy!" _

_Squall blinked in surprise. "You can't be my Mommy! You aren't a growned up!" The girl seemed slightly put off at this, and Squall found himself regretting the words that made her lose her cheery attitude. But, once again, she brightened, saying, "Then I'll be your best friend!"_

_Squall found himself unable to say anything against that pronouncement, not that he really wanted to anyway. He had never had a best friend before._

_He told her that, to which she smiled shyly. "Me neither. Can you be mine?"_

_Squall didn't answer, though he found a small smile curling at his lips, and didn't complain when she took his hand. They sat there for a moment, neither saying a word, both secretly marveling at how they seemed to understand each other perfectly. The girl giggled suddenly. "I forgot to tell you my name! I'm Rinoa!" _

"_Squall…"_

_Rinoa sighed, "Wow, I like your name. It fits your pretty eyes."_

_Squall found himself suddenly embarrassed. "Rinoa's nice too," he said, as though making sure that her name was worth knowing. Rinoa smiled again, but was cut off by the sound of a piano starting. They both turned to look at the stage, where the woman in red was standing in front of the microphone, while the other lady in a bright green played a soft melody._

_Squall shot Rinoa a questioning glance, who was only too happy to answer. "They're practicing. Mommy's gonna be in a show tonight. My Mommy's the bestest singer in the world!" She pointed to the woman in red, who smiled and waved at her daughter. She then opened her mouth and began singing in what even Squall knew was a beautiful voice._

_**My last night here for you**_

_**Same old songs, just once more**_

_**My last night here with you?**_

_**Maybe yes, maybe no**_

_**I kind of liked it your way**_

_**How you shyly placed your eyes on me**_

_Rinoa sighed happily. "This is my favoritest song that mommy does. She never sings it when daddy's here. She says that he wouldn't like it."_

_**Oh, did you ever know?**_

_**That I had mine on you**_

_Rinoa mother smiled softly, almost sadly, as she looked to a corner of the room, somewhere that neither Squall or Rinoa could see._

_**Darling, so there you are**_

_**With that look on your face**_

_**As if you're never hurt**_

_**As if you're never down**_

_**Shall I be the one for you**_

_**Who pinches you softly but sure**_

_**If frown is shown then**_

_**I will know that you are no dreamer**_

_Rinoa frowned as she saw tears glistening in her mother's eyes. "Mommy always gets so sad when she sings this song. She said it's because she's remembering something happy. I don't know why she cries if she's thinking of something happy." Rinoa balled her hand (the one that wasn't clasped in Squall's) into a fist. "Mommy seems so sad…but then she says that I make her happy. Happier than she's ever been." Rinoa brightened slightly at that, as she began to sing softly with her mother, in a voice Squall found to be even more beautiful._

_**So let me come to you**_

_**Close as I wanted to be**_

_**Close enough for me**_

_**To feel your heart beating fast**_

_**And stay there as I whisper**_

_Squall found the memory of the song becoming a part of him in a way nothing ever had before. The words were now imprinted on his soul._

_**How I loved your peaceful eyes on me**_

_**did you ever know**_

_**That I had mine on you**_

_Rinoa squeezed his hand, and Squall found himself returning the gesture. He had never felt so comfortable around anyone other than Sis, and even she didn't make him feel so…relaxed. So…happy…_

_**Darling, so share with me**_

_**Your love if you have enough**_

_**Your tears if you're holding back**_

_**Or pain if that's what it is**_

_**How can I let you know**_

_**I'm more than the dress and the voice**_

_**Just reach me out then**_

_**You will know that you're not dreaming**_

_Rinoa's mother smiled, all traces of tears gone as she watched her daughter and the young boy on the balcony. She felt a happiness rise within herself, and she almost laughed out loud. Her daughter meant everything, and she seemed to have found someone else that felt the same way. _

_**Darling, so there you are**_

_**With that look on your face**_

_**As if you're never hurt**_

_**As if you're never down**_

_**Shall I be the one for you**_

_**Who pinches you softly but sure**_

_**If frown is shown then**_

_**I will know that you are no dreamer**_

_As the last note faded, a ringing silence greeted the end of the song. Abruptly, Rinoa stood up, dragging Squall with her as she cheered. "Yay! Mommy!" She nudged Squall, who looked rather shy as he said, "Um…yay?"_

_The laugh that she had been suppressing burst forth from Rinoa's mother at the sight of the undeniably cute boy seeming so flustered. Squall couldn't keep the smile from coming onto his face as Rinoa too, began to laugh. _

"_Rinny we have to go get ready! Introduce me to your friend before we go." Rinoa frowned. "Aww, we gots to go after I show you Mommy. But I'll see ya real soon, promise!" She dragged Squall down the stairs, to the stage where her mom stood. She smiled as they approached, walking down the stairs and bending over to get a good look at her daughter's new friend._

"_Hello," She said, reaching out her hand for him to shake. "My name is Julia. What's yours?"_

_Slowly, shyly, Squall lifted his head to look her in the eyes. Julia gasped. "Laguna…?" she breathed, her eyes wide. Rinoa said, "Who's Laguna Mommy? This is Squall!" While Squall merely looked confused._

"_I'm sorry," Julia said, her smile back in place. "You just…look familiar. Do I know your parents?" Squall shook his head as Rinoa replied. "He don' gots a Mommy and Daddy. I wanted to be his Mommy, but I'm too young!" She pouted. Julia laughed, shaking the slightly bemused Squall's hand. "It's very nice to meet you dear. Unfortunately, Rinoa and I have to go now. You two can see each other later, okay?" _

_Squall nodded dumbly as he found himself trapped in a tight hug with Rinoa. "Bye, new best friend!" Squall didn't reply, but found himself smiling for what seemed to be the thousandth time that day. How could this girl make him smile so much?_

_Rinoa stepped away from him and grabbed her mother's hand; letting go of Squall's much smaller one. Squall found himself missing the feeling of her hand. "Bye!" Rinoa chirped, her mother leading her away. Squall managed a feeble little wave as they disappeared through the door. _

_A few moments passed before Squall realized that he had absolutely nothing to do or think about. Almost unconsciously, he followed after Rinoa and her mom, not sure what he would do once he caught up with them._

_By the time he was in the lobby, they had already walked through the spinning door. Squall followed, wanting, if nothing else, to say a proper goodbye. He was stopped by a crowd of people, tourists rushing to their rooms. Even as he was struggling to get around a woman that seemed to be carrying an alligator, he did not miss the sound of the crash._

_He had never heard anything so loud. It was like the time when the others had set off fireworks, a huge explosion rocked through the hotel as Squall found himself even more desperate to catch up with Rinoa. As he neared the door, he was, again, blocked by a huge crowd that seemed to be gathering around something outside._

"_Oh god! What happened?!?" _

"_Drunk driver…damn them."_

"_It was the singer from the bar right?"_

"_Caraway's wife? Is that their daughter?"_

_The whispered conversations meant nothing. None meant anything, save for the strangled cry that reached Squall's ears with a jolt._

"_Mommy! Mommy, why won't you wake up? MOMMY!"_

_It was a voice that Squall knew he could never forget. He forced himself through the crowd, and discovered why Rinoa was crying._

_Julia lay in a pool of blood. A truck that had crashed into the wall some ways away was smoking. Rinoa kneeled in front of her mother, her knees drenched in Julia's blood, a small cut on her arms seeming to be her only injury. Tears streaked down her face as she clutched her mother's hand, which was limp in her daughter's hold. Suddenly, she looked up as though sensing Squall's presence. Squall couldn't bear the look in her eyes; the helplessness and utter sadness. He had to look away. _

_The next thing he knew, Rinoa's tear-streaked face was in his, and she was wailing as her tiny fists pounded his chest. "Why won't she wake up? Squall, why won't she get up!?! Make her get up Squall!" _

"_Rinoa…I…can't…" _

_Rinoa stopped, her fist inches from striking again, before she said in a terrible voice of pain, "Mommy's not going to get up is she?"_

_She said nothing else but cried into his chest. He found himself hugging her, not saying a word as her sobs shattered the air like the crack of a whip._

_A powerful male voice said, "Come on, there's nothing here for you now."_

_Rinoa looked up and said in a disbelieving voice, "…Daddy?" The man didn't answer her as he grabbed her shoulder roughly. "Don' stain the poor boy's shirt, Rinoa. Your mother wouldn't want you behaving this way."_

_He began dragging her away, though she shrieked and pulled against him. Squall found himself moving forward, but even larger men blocked his path. _

"_Mommy!" Rinoa shrieked, "Squall!" Her tiny fingers were reaching out to him, just beyond where he could grasp._

"_Rinoa!" He called, wanting to say something, anything to see her smile before she was taken away. "Best Friends!"_

_Time seemed to freeze for a moment, Rinoa's eyes widening slightly. But then a smile blew over her face. It didn't last long, but it was true. _

_And it was the most beautiful thing Squall had ever seen._

_Rinoa nodded. "Best Friends!" She called back._

_And then she was gone…_

**Rinoa…**

"Squall!"

There were voices, so many voices…

"Squall! Wake up! Don't you dare die on me! If you die, who will argue with me?"

He wasn't going to die…his body just felt so heavy…and he was so tired…

"Come on Squall, I've got you now, we're gonna get out of this alive!"

The voice…it was so familiar…so nice…so…

"Rinoa…" His voice was cracked, and he felt dried blood on his lips as he tried to speak. Rinoa's face, blurred, was above him. He could just make out her eyes…her beautiful…wonderful…eyes….

"Rinoa…I'm…so…sorry…"

"Squall!" He could feel her hands clutching his face, shaking him, trying to keep his eyes open. Squall found himself not caring if his eyes never opened again, just so long as he got to say what he needed to say…

"So…sorry…"

And everything went black.

* * *

Sorry for the depressing end. Squall gets concious next chap. Can't you picture a four-year-old Rinoa? Not to mention a Five-year-old Squall? Awwww!

Please Review!


	3. Help Me

Finally, a new chapter. Not much happens, Squall muses on a few things. And Broods. And Muses some more. Like I said, nothing exciting or new. I hope you enjoy it anyway! The next chapter will be more exciting, promise!  


* * *

Chapter Three

Help Me

"_Best Friends Squall!"_

"_Best Friends…Rinoa…"_

Scattered patches of sunlight filtered through the leafy canopy, flashing a brilliant gold as the light caught on shining rocks or rusted metal. Birds twittered softly overhead, as all manner of creatures woke softly into a bright, new, day.

Squall Leonheart took no notice of these things as he erupted into a world of pain. His whole body ached, though mostly his right arm and leg throbbed madly. They were, he noticed offhandedly, bent at a rather awkward angle. Gritting his teeth to keep himself from crying out, her slowly opened his eyes. A few feet away from where he lay on a smooth mound of leaves, sat Rinoa, kneeling before a smoking fire. She was muttering under her breath, poking the burning brambles and logs with a long stick, rearranging them so that the smoke flowed away from her face.

She seemed to feel his eyes, and looked around from the pitiful fire to meet his gaze. She jumped to her feet and skidded to a halt before him, a delighted smile on her face. Kneeling over him, she placed a cool hand on his forehead, retracting it almost immediately. Squall found his cheeks were suddenly much warmer than before, and struggled to keep his cool.

"Sorry," Rinoa said, smiling slightly at his bemused look. "You had quite a fever last night. It's broken though. Looks like all those first-aid survival lessons Mom made me take come in handy sometimes." She giggled, before bending over to look at his oddly bent arm and leg. She sighed, a frown replacing her carefree smile.

She swallowed, lightly pressing her hands on Squall's clearly broken arm. Even her slight touch sent waves of agony flowing through his body, and a pain-filled grunt escaped his lips. Rinoa removed her hand immediately. With the air of saying something painful and wanting to get it over as quickly as possible, Rinoa began to speak. "When you…fell…you landed badly…I was able to cast a protect and save myself serious injury. I only got a dislocated shoulder. You…well…" She swallowed again. "You nearly broke every bone in your body." Her voice was low, her head bent.

"I…I couldn't heal everything. There was so much…but I healed quite a bit. Originally, you had two cracked ribs; your right arm was broken in three places. Both your left arm and right leg were broken in two, and your left leg was broken in three, and was attached to a fractured ankle. A rather large scar went across your chest, and both your legs were bleeding badly. If I hadn't found you when I did, you likely would have bled to death. You were barely conscious and seemed to be delusional when I found you…"

Rinoa finally looked up at Squall, only to find him wearing a very guarded expression. "…And now?" he asked simply, he eyes locking with her before quickly looking away again.

A small smile returned to Rinoa's face as she said, " Now…well…I managed to heal your ribs, not to mention most of your scars, your left arm and right leg are okay, though I really wouldn't recommend doing much with them, they'd be too weak from blood loss." She paused. "As you can probably tell, your right arm and left leg are still broken. I think they'll heal fine with time, but I nearly exhausted our supply of cures doing everything else, and those limbs wouldn't even begin to heal without a curaga. I'm out of those, but I have some Curas and Cures. I figured we might need some later, so I couldn't heal you all the way. You see…"

Rinoa paused, biting her lip. "I think there's some kind of magical interference in the forest. Nothing I do is as powerful as it usually is, and I used and Ether and an Elixir too, so it's not because of that. I even tried to summon a GF, and I got nothing! You have to double the effort for average, easy, spells! I just…nothing I did could make anymore difference. I…I am so sorry… it'll have to heal the natural way for a while, till the cure spells I have will do the trick."

A long silence stretched between them, and Rinoa bit her lip until she drew blood, worried about Squall's reaction, and hoping to Hyne that he would understand.

When he did nothing other than avoid her eyes, she spoke in a small voice.

"I'm really sorry. I…I can try again if you-"

"No."

He flickered his gaze over to her for a moment, seeming almost to have to wrench himself away from her eyes. He shook his head. "Don't apologize."

His voice was low, his lips barely moving. If there had been other people around, Rinoa would never have believed that he would say something like that, let alone in that voice. But it wasn't, she reflected, the first time he had used it. All the times she had heard it had been when he was speaking to her. She couldn't even describe the way it sounded, it was unlike anything she had heard before, and she knew better than to ask Squall what it meant.

Slowly, she nodded, leaning back so that she wasn't hanging over him. His eyes flashed over to her again, and for a moment, Rinoa thought she saw a flicker of hurt at her actions. It was piled onto a long list of things that confused her about him. She could have spent a hundred years with Squall Leonheart, and she knew that she would never understand him all the way.

Clearing her throat, she shifted her position, so that she was closer than before. "I also found Lionheart. It's a little scratched, but…" She gestured over to the fire, where Squall saw his Gunblade gleaming in the light, propped up against a rock. Squall nodded, his eyes flicking over to her again. Sighing, Rinoa looked around at her surroundings. She felt a slightly sheepish smile come onto her face as she turned back to Squall.

"I…uh, don't suppose you know where we are? Or how to get out of here?"

There was a slight pause as Squall looked around as well. Then…

"…No."

Rinoa sighed again, blowing her hair out of her face. "I didn't think so." Drawing her knees up to her chest, she sat back, leaning against a tree. "Let's try and think of a way out, or at least, a way to survive until the others find us." They elapsed into a silence neither broke, both lost in their own thoughts. Unlike Rinoa however, Squall found himself thinking of anything BUT their predicament.

His thoughts lingered on his dream. '**But was it a dream?'** It reminded him of the 'dream world' that he occasionally entered. Like that, they dream, or memory, or whatever it was, seemed to have the ring of reality. But if it was real, if it had happened, then why hadn't he remembered it before?

'**For the same reason Rinoa doesn't seem to remember…'**

The fact that he had not only known, but had been friends with, Rinoa, affected him more than learning the truth about his connection with the others had. He wasn't sure what he felt, but knew that it was…different. That, coupled with the fact that he had witnessed the death of her mother, and been unable to do anything as Caraway pulled her away, made him unable to meet Rinoa's eyes. He had never felt so sorry for anything before, and his feeble attempts to apologize before he passed out seemed inadequate. But at the same time, a part of him found himself unable to talk to her about his memory, and he certainly couldn't ask her to recount her mother's death, hoping that it would trigger her memory. At least, he couldn't ask that yet. But time would tell…

"I think we should keep moving."

The sudden words from Rinoa jerked Squall unceremoniously from his thoughts. Rinoa turned toward him. "If we stay in one place too long, monsters are gonna come, and I don't know had many T-Rexataurs I can face without a GF. If we keep moving, we're bound to find a way out."

'**Yeah, or off another cliff…'**

"…You're right. We should move. I can't exactly walk, though…"

Rinoa smiled.

"Leave that, to me."

* * *

"Are you sure about this?"

"Positive. Now give me your arm."

Reluctantly, Squall held up his weak, but uninjured, left arm. Rinoa grabbed it in a surprisingly vice-like grip.

"Okay, now on three…one…two…" Faster than Squall thought it was possible, Rinoa pulled on his arm, lifted him into the air, and dropped him on the wooden sled.

Squall's disgruntled voice broke the silence.

"I thought you said 'on three'."

Rinoa shrugged. "If I'd actually done that, you'd have braced yourself too much and I wouldn't have been able to lift you."

"…Whatever."

Giggling, Rinoa bent over the prone form, adjusting his position so that he at least lay straight. "Sorry if that hurt. Now all you'll have to worry about is if we run over a snake."

'**That's not particularly comforting.'**

Squall shrugged again, turning his eyes away from her. Biting her lip, Rinoa felt something inside herself seem to shrivel up. _**'He's angry with me…'**_ She wasn't sure why, but she hated Squall being angry with her. It wasn't because he yelled or was scary, she'd gotten enough of that from Caraway, but it was the fact that he was one person she couldn't stand to disappoint. Despite this feeling, she seemed to do so often.

"Squall…" Her voice seemed to act of it's own accord. "Why won't you look me in the eye? Are you that mad…?"

Squall's eyes inevitably went to hers, and Rinoa could see nothing but surprise. Slowly, Squall shook his head. Lowering his eyes away from her again, he said, "…Sorry. I'm…not angry. Not at you."

Cocking her head, Rinoa furrowed her eyebrows. "Why, then? Who are you angry with?"

Squall made a funny noise that seemed to be a derisive snort.

"…Myself."

Rinoa frowned. "Why?"

Squall didn't answer, determinedly looking at anything other than her. The silence stretched on, and Rinoa knew he wasn't going to answer her. Sighing, Rinoa grabbed the vines that had been looped through the trunks of the sled. "We'd better get going then. We've got a long day ahead of us."

Squall nodded, chancing a glance at her, seeing that she had already turned around and was dragging him across the uneven turf.

He didn't know why he wasn't telling Rinoa what a part of his wished so desperately to tell. Maybe it was because he kept going through the possibilities in his head of her reaction. Anger. Sadness. Contempt. Rejection. Fear. Distance. All he knew was that he couldn't stand any of those possibilities. Because no matter how many fights they got into, no matter how much she confused him, or annoyed him, no matter how much he told her hurtful things, there was one thing he couldn't stand.

Any of those reactions from Rinoa, he couldn't stand the thought of. From someone else, anyone else maybe, but not Rinoa. Never Rinoa. He didn't know why, but not just a part of him, but his whole self, could not stand to have Rinoa feel that way. Especially not at him.

Rinoa was Rinoa. And he wanted her to be happy.

He just wished he knew why…

* * *

Squall...so ignorant...sigh

Anyway, Next Chapter: Heal Me

And now, for the reveiws!

oakysan0108: Thanks! It's okay that you don't have ideas. Just keep readin' and reviewin'!

KHfreak1992: I'm glad you think it's cute! Thanks for the Review!

Jana Banana: Everyone thinks that the last chapt. was cute, which is what I was going for! Thanks for the review!

Rinny87: Thanks! I love seeing Squall and Rinoa as kids! They're soooo cute! Too bad this didn't happen in the game...thanks for the review!

HungryDemon: Thanks for the long review! I'm glad you like that Julia won't sing 'Eyes on Me' when Caraway's around. I don't hate him as a character, but he has definite jerkish qualities, many of which are depicted in this story. Even when I was writing this, I could not stop laughing at Zell's line of 'SEIFER CALLED ME A POO-POO HEAD!' Seriously, that is SO Zell...

rinnyheartillyizawesome: Thanks for the long Review! As you can see, Squall is alive, but the ride won't be an easy one...I actually cried while I wrote this, I never thought I'd write a story where I showed Julia's death. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!

Rinoa2005: Thanks for the review! Actually, Squall's older than Rinoa by a year, at least that what it says in the little booklet that came with the game...I can picture them together as kids too, (which is good, y' know, since I WROTE it...)

That's it! Also, I'd like to give permission to anyone that may or may not want to build off my stories, draw a pic for them, or write one with me so long as you don't take the credit. I will give you credit for anything you do relating to my stories, so long as you state that it's from MY story. Also if you do, please let me know so I can either advertise it, or check it out myself.

Please Reveiw!


	4. Heal Me

Yay! An update! This chapter is kinda...dark. It deals with murder, that's all I'm sayin'. I have never some across someone that did this, so yay for origonality!

Enjoy!  


* * *

Chapter Four

Heal Me

"_Leave me ALONE! I hate you!"_

_And with those ringing words, Rinoa Heartily slammed the door in her father's hurt face. The five-year-old whirled around and jumped on her bed, burying her face in her pillow. Hot, thick, tears streamed down her face. _

"…_Mommy…" She sobbed, shutting her eyes tight against the torrent of images that raced through her brain. Her mother, lying cold and coated with blood on the street. People and faces around her, so many that she didn't know. Voices that hardly mattered. Her father._

_And Squall. Her new best friend._

_She didn't know why, but for a moment, held in a tight hug by the reclusive boy, staring into his blue eyes, she had felt content. She had felt like her mother hadn't died and that everything was going to be okay._

_But then her father had taken her away, and the world became enclosed in darkness again. Rinoa was scared. She could hear her mother calling for her, but she couldn't see her in all the darkness, and before long, she was swallowed up. And the light was nowhere to be found._

_Some would think, perhaps, that at five, Rinoa wouldn't understand the concept of death. But being the daughter of a general had awoken her to many of the harsh truths of real life. Maybe she didn't REALLY know death, hadn't seen stinking corpses on a battle-field, or felt the raw helplessness of someone wasting away from sickness, but there were things that she did know, even then. _

_Rinoa Heartily knew that her mother would never talk to her, play were her, never tuck her in at night, again. She knew that she wouldn't feel her mother's cool hand smoothing her hair back, her light kisses on her nose. She knew that her mother would never wake up again._

_And loneliness spread through her, paralyzing her whole body as she thought of all the things she would never feel again, all the things her mother could never do now._

_And for a while she just cried. She cried until her breath came in gasps and her sadness welled up so that she could do nothing but wail in despair even as tears ceased to fall. She had no more tears to cry. Rinoa felt dried up, used, and empty. She felt unsure, and she felt afraid. _

_What could she do now that there was no one left to hold her tight?_

_But she realized, there WAS someone that could hold her, and help her. And it wasn't her father, either. _

_But the question was, how could she find Squall?_

_Well, Rinoa reasoned, she could worry about that later. Right now, she had a letter to write._

_And so, she set to work. _

_A long while later, she had composed a letter that was quite admirable for a five-year-old, especially seeing as she had been able to write since the age of three. It was a given when you were the daughter of a well-known general. Biting her lip slightly, Rinoa quickly read over what she had written. Aside from the fact that she didn't know if Squall could read, she didn't know how she would get it to him in the first place. _

_Call it intuition, or maybe fear, but Rinoa knew better than to tell her father about Squall. She couldn't tell anyone that worked for him either. So how could she find him? Whether she liked to admit it or not, she knew very little about Squall, and if things kept going the way they were going, she wasn't going to find out more._

_But an idea struck her, and she slipped soundlessly out the door._

_Rinoa returned a few minutes later, panting and clutching a few small items in her arms. Running over to her bed, she dropped the objects on the sheets and jumped up so that she sat in front of them._

_Scattered before her were five objects; her letter, a clear bottle, a cork, a bottle cap, and a hammer. Grabbing a black Marker from her bedside table, Rinoa folded up her letter, writing: __**'To Squall, From Rinoa'**__ on the front. Stuffing the letter in the bottle, she grabbed the hammer and cork. Pushing it in until it went no further, Rinoa swung the hammer high over the embedded cork. She pounded on it, until it slid so that it was just under the rim of the bottle. Carelessly tossing the hammer away, she screwed on the bottle cap and smiled slightly. _

_It wasn't definite, in fact, the likelihood was that Squall would never get it, but in her heart Rinoa knew that if she just believed in Squall, and their friendship, that her letter would find him. _

_And everything would be all right._

_The next day, no one noticed as Rinoa rolled down the window of the car while they drove by the ocean. And no one noticed as she drew her arm back and threw a crystal-clear bottle into the crashing waves._

'_**No matter where we are, Squall, Our hearts will bring us together again.'**_

_Two years passed. _

_And still, Rinoa kept up her determination, her mind-set that Squall would come for her. His face was blurry in her memory, but his eyes were bright and beautiful. And in her dreams he took her away from her father and they went to a wonderful place where her mother still lived, and Rinoa and Squall played and laughed like best friends should._

_But her days were dreary. It was always they same. She had to learn to be a trophy daughter so that her father would become more successful. Deep down, she did love him, but it was more of a required love. He was her Father, she HAD to love him. And so the rest of her that didn't follow that rule hated him with a passion. But Rinoa could never decide which one she truly believed. So she was stuck, waiting for Squall to save her. _

_It was on what seemed to be a normal day when she saw him again._

_Rinoa had been just about to leave her room when it was thrown open with the force of a speeding car. A burly, armed security guard stood in the doorway. "My apologies, Miss." He said, his deep voice seeming to come from a megaphone. "But there is a commotion below and your father insisted that you stay inside."_

'_**Inside…?'**__ Rinoa thought, frowning. __**'Then what's happening OUTside?'**_

_Before the guard could react, she dashed over to the window, where she saw her father standing before two armored men that were dragging a struggling boy away. _

_Somehow, Rinoa didn't think, she just knew._

"_SQUALL!!" _

_She slipped past the guard before he could do more than blink, and ran down the stairs, shoving people out of the way. _

_When she reached the gate where the guards were shoving the boy into a car, Rinoa shrieked, struggling to get passed her father. "SQUALL!"_

_Squall looked up, his face set in desperate determination. "Rinoa!" He called, struggling against the men that held him back. "I got your letter!" His feet were on the sides of the car, no matter how the guards pushed, they could not get him through without breaking his legs. _

"_I'm going away to the Garden! Find my answer on the growth of Seeds!"_

_Before Rinoa could say anything, their eyes locked for the briefest of moments, and Squall was gone. The car drove away and she broke down in renewed sobs. _

_Her savior had been unable to save her after all._

_Her father let down his guard for a moment, and she broke away from him, running, she didn't care where she ended up. _

_She found herself below her window, and Rinoa heard Squall's words echoing in her head. The growth of Seeds? What did that mean?_

_Suddenly, her eyes caught sight of the apple tree a few feet from her window._

_Rinoa didn't even hesitate, nor could she find herself surprised as she walked over to the tree and raised trembling fingers to the inscription:_

_**Rinoa-**_

_**I got your letter. I really can't answer you're Question, and I'm sorry for that. But I'll try to tell you something important. You can make your own happiness, Rinoa. You made me happier than I've ever been, just by meeting you once. You carry it with you. Never give up hope. Your mom is up in heaven somewhere, smiling at you everyday, I know it. **_

_**Lastly, I'll always be you're best friend.**_

_**We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other. **_

_**-Squall Leonheart**_

_Rinoa traced the rough lines of Squall's words, smiling to herself even as tears fell down her face. _

"_You're right, Squall. I'll never forget you…"_

_The very next day, her father cut down the tree. And that was the last time Rinoa knew anything of her best friend…_

_**Eight Years Later…**_

_Fifteen-year-old Rinoa Heartily twirled her braided hair around her finger absently. The TV was on, though it was a news program that she really wasn't listening to. But a few words from the reporter changed all of that._

…"_**And in other news, a convict is being released from prison today on early Parole. He has been accused of assisting in murder, illegal drug use, and drunk driving that, ten years ago, caused the death of the celebrated singer, Julia Caraway, wife of the General Caraway. Here is a snapshot of the convict, Allen Stephenson…"**_

_Rinoa, her mouth and eyes open wide in horror, gazed at the face of the man that had destroyed her life all those years ago. He was old; well into his sixties, but with a strong, powerful, almost sinister, look about him. His hair was shaggy and grey; his eyes glinting maliciously even from the screen of the television. _

_Rinoa felt her hands curl into fists as her mouth formed a feral smile._

_That man…was going to pay for what he had done…_

_And so, she tracked him down. He worked bagging groceries at a supermarket not far from her house. And in a dark alleyway, after he got off work on Friday night, Rinoa promised herself revenge._

_It all came down to this day, this moment. Rinoa didn't know what had come over her, she didn't know how to classify it other than as Hatred. Anger. Those feelings filled her up until she could feel nothing else, and she knew that she had to act. _

_The old man stepped out of the store, not looking back as he strolled along the pavement, whistling a tune. A few people along the road scooted away at the sinister sound. He smiled at them, a smile that was more like a leer. _

_He came to an alleyway._

_Rinoa stepped forward so that her face was in shadow, leaning against the wall of the alley, the baseball bat hidden securely behind her. "Hey there," she said, her voice coming out as a low purr. "Think you can show a girl around? I'm a little lost…do you think your could give me directions?"_

_The man stopped and did a double take, his eyes traveling slowly up her leather-clad body to her shadow-hidden face. He grinned, an odd light entering his eyes as he looked her up and down again. "Sure thing babe," he said, his voice grating and rough. _

_He stepped closer so that he was within arm's reach of Rinoa. _

_She did a quick sweep with her eyes. No one was around, no faces in windows, no cars driving by. Faster than even she had thought possible, she swung her leg around and kicked him in the groin._

_He let out a grunt of pain and doubled over as Rinoa grabbed him and threw him effortlessly behind her into the depths of the alley. She came towards him, hiding herself in shadow once more, focusing on the dark shape that was her prey. Reaching for the baseball bat, she swung it high around her head, making contact in the man stomach. _

"_Who the hell ARE you, bitch!?!" his voice ground out, wheezing. "What the hell do you want?"_

"_What do I want?" Rinoa's voice was unlike her own, harsh and dripping with hatred. "I want my mother back, bastard."_

_And she swung the bat again. And again, and again, and again. She kept swinging, aiming blindly as her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. She wanted to cause this man even a mere fraction of the pain she had felt, wanted to make him cry out in a fraction of the anguish that had filled her voice. Rinoa swung the bat over and over, not stopping no matter how loud the man's cries became. She didn't stop, even as she felt blood spray her face as it was flung off her bat as she swung it around once more. She didn't stop even as the man's cries became gasps and pants as her swinging became faster, not giving him enough time to make noise. Only when no sound issued from her prey did she stop, breathing hard, as finally, by the light of the moon and her adjusted eyes, she gazed at the broken man. _

_He lay perfectly still, blood gushing steadily from his cracked skull. No sounds of breathing escaped him, nor would they ever do so again. _

_The man that had killed her mother was dead, murdered by Rinoa Heartily._

_And with a resounding crash, it hit her. She had killed him. She had murdered. She had hit and broken a man until his blood ran down her face._

_And it was then that Rinoa Heartily truly understood death. _

_The bat fell out of her hands as she crashed to the ground, tears pouring down her unconscious face._

"_How is she doctor?"_

"_Fine. I cleared the blood off her face. We won't know anything for sure until she wakes up."_

_There were voices…so many voices… _

"…_Dad…?" Rinoa murmured, opening her eyes to be met with bright light._

"_She's awake!" Her father's tight and anxious face blocked the light for a moment. "How are you feeling?"_

"_Okay…" Rinoa sat up, raising a hand to her temples. "My head is throbbing though." Her father nodded grimly._

_Rinoa looked around the room, surprised to see a doctor examining her face. "Why is there a doctor here? What happened?" Her voice began to rise hysterically. _

"_Nothing…" Her father soothed, gently grabbing her arm. "It just looks like you tired yourself out and collapsed. I just wanted to make sure you were all right. Do you remember what happened before you passed out?"_

_Rinoa shook her head, eyes wide in fear. The doctor and her father were looking at her as though she would spontaneously combust at any moment._

_Her father's face relaxed slightly, though his fearful look remained in place. "You go back to sleep now. I need to chat with the doctor."_

_He patted her hand before leading the doctor out of the room. Though here conscious mind blocked out her fathers words, her subconscious lapped it up like a starving puppy._

"_Well, doctor? Why doesn't she remember?"_

_The doctor sighed. "She doesn't want to remember. She is so horrified by what she did that she cannot accept it until she is ready. Rinoa is likely to forget anything significant to do with her mother's death. You may very well have to make up a story for it, as she likely won't remember."_

"_So…her memory is gone?"_

"_Just the part that has to do with your wife's death. Everything else should be just fine. I suggest you treat her as you normally would. If there are any problems, call me." The doctor's footsteps faded as he walked down the stairs and out the door. _

_Rinoa's father sighed sadly._

"_Perhaps it is for the better. No one should know that they murdered at fifteen…least of all my Rinoa…"_

Rinoa Heartily woke to the harsh realities of her existence.

She was a murderer. She had killed at age fifteen.

The darkness of the night pressed in around her, suffocating her, chocking, killing her as she had killed two years ago…

But wait…what if it was all just a dream…?

No…Rinoa realized, eyes squeezing shut as tears leaked through. It all fit, it all made sense. She had shut out the memories of her mother's death, and the memories of Squall. One of the many reasons that she had run away from her father, had been that he had looked at her like she was something disgusting and foul, something to be afraid of. And the worst part was, Rinoa now knew…

He was right.

Tears poured down her face, struggling to keep her voice low so as not to wake Squall.

Too late for that, though.

"…Rinoa?" Squall's voice broke through her sobs like the crack of a whip.

"I'm fine, Squall…" Rinoa's voice was thick as she tried to mop her tears, her back to her companion.

"Did something happen…?"

"No, Squall…"Rinoa's chocked voice said, as tears continued to fall down her face. "I just discovered the truth about something." She was shaking uncontrollably, hot tears streaming down her face like rainfall.

"Rinoa…" Squall shifted, using his good limbs to adjust himself so that he could see her face. Hesitantly, he reached out a hand and placed it on her shoulder. The moment his gloved hands came into contact with her skin, Rinoa jumped away, snarling. "Don't touch me!"

Her breathing was heavy as she scrambled away from him, eyes wide. Squall blinked, confused, and a little hurt.

"Rinoa…" His voice was soft, questioning, his beautiful blue eyes boring into hers. And Rinoa couldn't help it; she had to let it out.

She came closer to him again, both leaning up against the other's body in a half-embrace.

"I did something really bad, Squall…." Her voice was so quiet, even in the stillness of the peaceful night, Squall had trouble hearing her.

"What happened…?"

Silence stretched on as Rinoa struggled to keep her voice steady.

"My mom died when she was hit by a drunk driver. I was only five. Ten years later…the guy that killed her was being released from prison on parole. Turns out he'd done some other illegal stuff too…"

"I…tracked him down one night. I waited in an alley by where he worked. I had a baseball bat with me. That night…" Rinoa trailed off as tears continued to flow. She scooted closer to Squall, reveling in his body heat.

"I just wanted to hurt him so badly, wanted to cause him some of the pain I had felt. The next thing I knew blood was splattered on my face, and my mother's killer lay dead on the ground…"

"I'm a murderer!" She whispered harshly. She felt pain and horror well up inside of herself, until she could no longer stand it.

Rinoa cried out in despair, clutching herself, trying to stop herself from shaking. "I killed…I killed…" She moaned, rocking back and forth, sobbing. "After-I couldn't-didn't- want to remember…I forgot everything to do with my mother's death…and the fact that I murdered at fifteen!"

Chocked sobs escaped her lips, and shuddering, Rinoa tried in vain to calm herself. "I'm dirty, Squall…contaminated."

"No."

Squall's answer was firm.

"Rinoa, if there's anyone in this world that isn't dirty or contaminated, it's you. You…carry happiness with you."

Rinoa turned wide, red-rimmed chocolate eyes, toward Squall's bright blue ones. "You…really think that…?" She murmured wonderingly, her lips twisting into the slightest smile.

Squall's face flushed slightly.

"I…suppose you're right…you wouldn't lie about something like that."

Rinoa's smile grew brighter.

"After all…you were my best friend…"

She was met with silence, staring into Squall's eyes. He said nothing, but nodded, almost imperceptibly.

And Rinoa leaned forward, grasping Squall in a light hug, careful on his broken limbs. For a moment, Squall sat, stiff as a board. Then, very slowly and gently, as though he were afraid she would turn into something scary and unpleasant, he leaned into her, holding on until her sobs quieted to be replaced by deep, easy, breathing.

And after a while, Squall too, entered into sleep. And together, they dreamed of simpler times, where dead woman were alive and families were whole. And together in sleep, a five-year-old girl approached a six-year-old boy.

"_We're best friends! Now and forever!"_ She said, grasping his hand.

And the boy smiled before replying.

"_Always…we may never meet again, but I promise, we'll never really forget each other. We're best friends, Rinoa. Always."_

And they didn't know it then, as they lay together in peaceful, blissful, slumber. But that night had changed them. Now, together they were on a journey bigger than any other. Together, they began the journey that would heal their souls, their very being. They were together, and they would help each other, as no one else could.

And as their breathing mingled into the still night, they began their greatest and most important journey yet.

And not too far away, a hulking T-Rexatour smelled the blood and salt of a Human's tears. Low growls escaped its lips as its tongue moved over its teeth, preparing for a feast.

And with the scent of Humans and the stars as his guide, the dinosaur-like creature set off in search of its prey…

* * *

OOOOOHHHH! Heh heh, cliffhanger! 

I hope you liked. Next chappie: Protect Me

And now for reveiws:

rinnyheartillyizawesome: Thanx! I'm glad you thought that part was funny. I plan on doing more remembering and humor later on. Thanks for the review!

Rinny87: Thanks, I got both, though I removed the seperate story. I appreicate the reviews! I will continue this dilligently!

Xx-DarkStar: I'm glad you love this story. I must admit that I'm rather fond of it too! If anyone here likes FF7, check out my stories for that game, the same with Inuyasha. Oh, I also read your other story and enjoyed it emmensly, You are really talented. Thanks for the Review!

Relyob: Thanks, I hope you liked the other chappies!

That's it! Thanks to each and everyone of you!

Please Review this chapter too, if you don't mind!

Catch ya on the flip side-

AerithHeart )


	5. Protect Me

Finally- an update! (Dies of shock) No, seriously, this chapter took me forever because I didn't know how to start it. But I'm all set for the next one, and to make it up to 'yall, I'll work extra hard to get it up. Anyway, this chapter it a bit more violent, so if any of you don't have strong stomachs, might want to skim through this rather than read at the risk of barfing. (It's not _that_ bad, but I figured I'd tell ya) Anyways, Enjoy!  


* * *

Protect Me

Chapter Five

Warmth radiated off her body, the bright sunlight dying her skin a faint bronze color. Gently, peacefully, Rinoa opened her eyes to the shining morning. She opened her mouth in a yawn, freezing as she felt warm breath danced across her neck. Her heart stopped as she swallowed, trying to reign in her emotions as another soft breath electrified her senses.

Attempting to control her pulse rate, Rinoa half-turned to look at the person breathing so intently on her skin. Squall, his eyes closed and peaceful, lay with his head by her neck, seeming completely unaware of the situation he was in. Through her embarrassment, and slight bubbling delight, Rinoa reflected on how wonderful Squall looked when he slept, untroubled by harsh realities.

They both lay on the hard, slightly damp, ground. Rinoa was laying across Squall's good arm, he also on top of hers, his head bent so that his breathing fluttered across her collarbone.

Slowly, carefully, Rinoa extracted herself from the half-embrace, trembling slightly with the feeling of Squall's breath lingering on her skin. She shivered, chills that had nothing to do with cold shooting through her.

Squall moved a little, grunting and mumbling softly in deep slumber. Rinoa couldn't help the small smile that flitted across her face at the sight of his peaceful one. Somehow- in a way she would never comprehend-Squall calmed her, made her feel welcome and at ease. At the same time, he also made her feel like a stuttering idiot, loud and annoying.

Rinoa's smile faded a little as she recalled the events of the night before, shivering in fear and horror. But her tears had been shed, and though it did not ease the pain, it made it bearable and somehow lighter. It was like working hard, building strength. At first, it hurt a lot; but over time that hurt become something stronger, molding into an ache that made you more powerful. When you mastered that pain-you could overcome anything.

Sighing, Rinoa placed trembling fingers to her face, feeling a slight stinging on her arms as she moved her shoulders. Looking down, she groaned in exasperation and disbelief.

"I can't believe it! I'm _sunburned_ of all things…"

Shaking her head, she stood up, yawning and stretching her tense muscles. Rubbing her eyes sleepily, Rinoa glanced around for her Blaster Edge, which she removed only when sleeping. It was where she had left it, leaning against a tree trunk with Squall's Lionheart. Stumbling slightly, she walked over, grasping the Blaster edge and fixing it onto her arm.

A tingling sensation on the back of Rinoa's neck alerted her to someone watching her. Spinning around, she saw Squall, his bright blue eyes riveted upon her.

Rinoa felt a smile come to her face. "Hey," she whispered.

Squall nodded to acknowledge her. He moved his eyes away from hers, to look down at his Gunblade. For a moment, Rinoa could see the vulnerability he felt, unable to use his trusted weapon. But he surprised her by speaking, before she could even ask the question that formed on her lips.

"…I can move my arm a bit…" He lifted his right limb, face set in concentration. It quavered, trembled, but it was in the air of Squall's accord.

Rinoa's smile grew. "That is fantastic Squall! You'll be better in no time! Maybe soon, I'll be able to try curing it again…" She clapped her hands together and spun around in joy. Squall nodded again, but looked once more at his Gunblade, this time seeming to be thinking hard.

Rinoa bit her lip at the tension that filled the air. She opened her mouth, and then closed it again. Should she bring up the things she had said the night before? Would Squall even remember, let alone admit it?

Squall glanced at her again, and his brow furrowed a little.

"Are you…okay?"

His unexpected question startled her, and Rinoa jumped, shocked out of her reverie. Smiling again, she nodded, looking curiously at Squall all the same.

He was embarrassed. Flushing slightly, he added, "I guess…last night you just…seemed to be…upset…"

Rinoa found herself mentally snorting. **'Understatement of the year…'** But she gave a hesitant smile to quell her slight bitterness. After all, what reason did she have to be bitter toward _him_.

"I was…am…upset. It's not something you can just forget. More than once that is," she amended, her smile growing a little. Rinoa sighed as Squall's frown increased.

"I guess…it's because I can't change what I did. It doesn't change who I am as I whole. Last night, I forgot that." She smiled warmly at Squall, who blinked rapidly, apparently confused. She walked over to him, squatting down so that she leaned over him slightly, cocking her head to the side.

Squall stared at her, and her unusually warm brown eyes. He felt his breath leave him in a rush as Rinoa's eyes seemed to glow from within herself—from the power of the emotions inside of her. Her long, ebony hair tickled the side of his face and neck, and he felt odd sensations swarm through himself. Was it…pleasure?

Rinoa's voice was almost a whisper.

"But last night, Squall…you reminded me…"

She drew closer to him, almost unconsciously, so that they felt each other's breath on their faces…

"Squall…I can't thank you enough…"

The sunlight was shining on his face, and Rinoa couldn't help but wonder why his face couldn't always glow like that, so open, so…free… And she wondered when he had started to look that way, when he had become so wonderfully beautiful that the glorious sunsets and canvases of art seemed to pale when compared.

Her eyes were like a lighthouse in the middle of a raging storm—a storm inside Squall himself. He wondered how long she had looked like that- she had always been beautiful but never so…there wasn't even a word for it.

She just _was._ She was just so…Rinoa. And no one…nothing…could compare…not to him…

They stiffened at the same time, horror widening their eyes. Loud, wild footsteps were crashing through the trees, getting closer, and closer…

They didn't need to say it out loud- they knew what it was.

A T-Rexatour was coming for them.

Rinoa didn't hesitate as she thrust her arms around Squall and half carried, half dragged, him away from the thundering crashes. Though she knew this hurt him badly, she only muttered and apology as she propped him up against a tree, and turned, preparing herself.

Raising her arm, Rinoa bent her knees, shaking as the crashes grew in volume. **'I jinxed us when I said I couldn't handle a T-Rexatour…'** she moaned inside her head, desperately trying to focus and form some kind of battle plan.** 'They are…vulnerable to Sleep! And I can barely do magic…great. Life just loves to screw us over…'**

Her mind-rant was cur short as the beast emerged from the underbrush, a low growl building in its chest as it opened its mouth slightly, teeth gleaming menacingly. It was huge, far larger than Rinoa could have thought, nearly towering over the high treetops even when it was bent over.

Rinoa moved so that she was forming a semicircle around it, so that she was drawing its attention from Squall and his dried blood. "Focus Rinoa, you can do this…hopefully…" She readied the Blaster edge, gripping it's sides tightly. The T-Rexatour and Rinoa moved as one.

It lunged forward, its jaws quivering as it let out a mighty roar that seemed to shake the very ground. Without much room to maneuver, its steps were short, but quick all the same.

Rinoa jumped to the side as it lept at her, sending it crashing through the underbrush once more. Spinning in the air, her body twisting sideways above the ground, she fired the blade of the Blaster Edge as the T-Rexatour turned back toward her, snarling.

The silver blade glinted as it flew toward the monster, slicing clean through the T-Rexatour's neck. It grunted, jerking back as blood began to leak out of the gash. Roaring once more, it snapped its jaws, diving toward her.

Rinoa had no time to dodge as she fell to her feet from her first shot, only to fall again as the thundering footsteps caused her to crash to the hard dirt.

"Rinoa!" Squall's voice shook her out of her reverie a split second before the monster impacted with its target. Rinoa was sent flying, backward into a tree, feeling the oak bark snap as braches were broken off from the force of the blow. She felt blood seep from a wound in her back as pain seared through her…though she shakily pushed herself up again.

Aiming the Blaster Edge, she stood her ground as the T-Rexatour charged again, teeth raking toward her.

"The eyes!" Squall called, his voice beginning to become desperate.

Rinoa nodded, adjusting her aim, firing before the monster could take another step. The blade met her target, slicing cleanly (or messily depending on how you thought about it) through the T-Rexatour's yellow eyes.

Its legs buckled as it roared in agony; blood splattering Rinoa as it thrashed, crashing into the trees beside her- a narrow miss. Panting slightly, she caught the blade as it flew back to her, refitting it into her weapon. Aiming again, she fired, attempting for the other eye.

As though it knew where she was aiming, the T-Rexatour jerked its head back, the blade of the Blaster Edge skirting its jaw line. Lashing out its tail, her caught Rinoa in surprise- she had forgotten its tail…

The spikes sliced her skin deeply, throwing her backward again, crashing through the trees and out of sight.

"Rinoa!!" Squall screamed, fear plunging into his heart. His eyes turned to the T-Rexatour, who was regarding him curiously, apparently wondering about his shouting. Concentrating, Squall bellowed, "Blizzaga!" raising his left arm with confidence, his right shakily as pain raced through him.

Though a ball of ice fell onto the monster- it was less than half the size of a normal blizzard spell, let alone that of a Blizzaga. The T-Rexatour roared in fury as ice coated its scales, the blood pouring from its eye freezing in place, seeming to burn in the cold.

Squall had its attention now.

He scrabbled at the ground and plants around him- and inbred instinct to run. His limbs seared as he collapsed upon the dirt and mud.

It was charging at him—and Squall knew that his effort had been futile. He knew that he was going to die, and fear engulfed him. He had never expected to feel so, in willingly giving his life in the wonderful, terrible hope that someone else would live. But with the fear came a sense of peace at what he was doing- and who for. If he died so Rinoa could live…well, that was okay. Rinoa still had so much to do for the world, wonderful, beautiful, things. And who was he to live when she died? It would hardly be fair, or good. Squall would never have lived with who he was if that happened- so this terrible instant- this horror of death and blackness- was okay.

After all…maybe this way, Rinoa could be happy.

And yet still, his emotions raged, as time seemed to slow, though he could still feel the pounding steps, it was as though it was already outside of himself, outside of the world. He felt regret, quite suddenly. What if, what if…what about…how about…it circled endlessly.

What about Quistis, Selphie, Zell, and Irvine?

What about seeD, and the Garden?

What about Matron…the Sorceress…?

What about Rinoa? What about her smiles and laughter that she shared with him? It seemed suddenly cold as he thought about losing that forever…

'**What about me…?'**

All the questions he had been unable to ask, the reasons he had sought? What about his values and wants, his needs…? What about his…dreams?

The T-Rexatour was almost before him- it was nearly time.

'**I guess this is where I say goodbye…where I say thanks. Well, goodbye everyone…my friends. Goodbye…Rinoa…'**

The monster was nearly on him, its pounding slowing as it lowered its head full of gleaming teeth…

'…**Goodbye…'**

BANG- a bullet blew through the T-Rexatour, knocking it off course, so that it crashed into the ground before impacting with Squall. Slowly, almost as one, the beaten monster and Squall turned their heads to look at the person that had fired.

Rinoa stood a few feet away, bloody and scratched, wobbly on her feet, holding a smoking Lionheart, panting with a feral smile on her face.

Her eyes narrowed as the T-Rexatour scrambled to its feet, snarling at her even as blood seeped from its middle.

Rinoa's lips curled back over her teeth as a snarl too, was ripped from her throat. "This ends now." With that, a terrible cry of fear, anger, and true courage came from her as she lept toward the monster, raising Lionheart high above her head.

The T-Rexatour had no chance.

The sword sliced through its head, blood spurting so that a shower seemed to descend upon them, Rinoa's heaving figure prominent among the carcass.

Trembling, she turned, her eyes filled with tears. Wiping at them with a blood-covered hand, she approached Squall. Giving a watery chuckle, she wrapped her arms around him, dragging him toward the makeshift sled she had made.

"Maybe it's about time I learned how to use a Gunblade- my Blaster Edge is a peashooter in comparison to things like that," Rinoa said as she adjusted the vine straps that held Squall in place. Grabbing her shoulder straps, she continued; "We should probably try to find a cave so that we won't be found so easily again- one that hopefully isn't inhabited. " She laughed again, her voice stronger. "And we could use a spring or something close by, or at least within walking distance from our shelter so that I don't have to drag you everywhere I go. Besides," Rinoa glanced down at herself, laughing again. "I could _really_ use a bath."

As she began to move, dragging Squall over the uneven turf, she paused at the carcass of the T-Rexatour. In one swift movement, she sliced into its back and stomach, cutting away the raw meat. Removing her long dirty, blue duster, (A/N that's her jacket thingy) she wrapped the meat in it, tying the armbands around it to keep it secure.

"There. Now we can eat something besides mushrooms." Rinoa laughed again, holding the lump of bloody meat in one arm, she continued to walk. Just as she opened her mouth again to speak, Squall beat her to it.

"Rinoa?"

"Yes?" She turned her head toward him, a radiant smile on her face. Even covered in blood, Squall could see what he had noticed in the sunlight that day. He knew that he could never look at her again without seeing it.

"I'm sorry…I know how hard it must have been for you to kill…even if it wasn't a human."

Rinoa's face softened even more. "It's alright Squall…I-I'm okay now." She smiled reassuringly before turning toward the path ahead of them again.

"Rinoa? One more thing."

He waited until she was facing him again.

With the sun shining on her face, Squall took a deep breath. He could see her without the blood staining her hands, the leftover tears in her eyes, and the quaver in her voice. He saw her smiling and laughing next to him on the cliff- holding his hand as a child. He thought of nothing else as he spoke the words he felt long overdue- words that he had been so afraid to say…

"Thank you."

* * *

Ohhhh... Sorry for the sudden ending there. But Squall is appreciating someone!?! Holy Crap! Anyway, also, Squall shows that he actually has hormones! Alert the Newspapers: SQUALL LEONHEART HAS HORMONES!! Sorry, but a lot of the stories I've read either make him a vincent valentine, or make him seem like an actor on a Soap Opera.

Anyway, here's the reviews:

Azarethian Titan: Thanks, I'm glad you like it. Though I did not update 'soon' I updated!

Freyjadour: Thanks- I'm glad you think it's so great. I really like creating such suspense and excitement in readers!

Jana Banana: I loved the letter in the bottle thing too. Yeah, it was pretty sad. Bet none of ya guessed I would make Rinoa a murderer...and yep, they are definitely getting closer...

Paul V: Thanks for the long review- I really love those. I have read a few where they grew up together- but it was in some twisted universe where Raine and Julia were alive...-- Anyway, thanks for the major compliment on my writing! I don't plan on stopping!

Rinny87: Thanks for the long review. Yep, I've played Kingdom Hearts, I have never finished it though. I know that was Squall's line, I just forgot to mention that at the end heh... I think I used Aerith's too...

boothbones4ever2ghether: Thanks! Some FF8 fics aren't so good, but I do my best to keep them all in character!

I think that's it...please review!

Next Chapter: Lean On Me: Time passes. You find that it goes faster- then slower. You can't track when this will happen- or what it will do. Sometimes, it breaks you- but other times...other times it brings you together again...


	6. Lean On Me

Whew! Earlier update, yay! This chapter is...okay. But I was half-asleep when I wrote it. Parts of it I really like, but overall, this isn't really that epic in my opinion. But it gets better, promise!

Anyway, enjoy!  


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Chapter Six

Lean On Me

_Time passes. You find that it goes faster- then slower. You can't track when this will happen- or what it will do. Sometimes, it breaks you- but other times...other times it brings you together again..._

Days turned into weeks.

Hours, minutes…it all passed, unchangingly, it seemed…

But they knew that they had changed; that they would never be the same.

Squall healed. He was able to walk on his own, thought he could not run up to his usual standard. He practiced walking and fighting whenever he could- though he tired quickly.

Rinoa had found a temporary residence, which was thankfully within a walk to freshwater. Every morning she would go there to bathe. It had been a while since she had been coated in blood, and yet it seemed to her as though the smell would never come off.

And everyday they searched for a way out. They looked for where the trees would end, where the animals scattered, where humanity was clear upon the planet's visage.

The forest continued endlessly…

"Well," Rinoa joked, "Now I know the first thing I'm going to say when we get outta here."

"…What?"

"That we are going to a department store, and buying walkie-talkies."

Squall gave a small snort. It sounded only half-amused, but Rinoa thought it was a start.

Squall lifted a gloved hand and gently pushed a low-hanging branch out of her way. Rinoa said nothing, though a thrill seemed to go through her at the simple act.

These days, Squall did that sort of thing often. He was polite, while before he was tolerable, and barely that. He would do little things, pushing branches out of her way, cooking the food when she was exhausted…

Rinoa never brought attention to his antics. Part of her was afraid that he would stop if she did. But she had never seen him so…comfortable. He did these things as though it was natural, like he didn't even have to question or second-guess for once in his life.

Rinoa supposed there was only so much you could do together before you inevitably became friends. Becoming stranded in a forest that seemed endless with a sad excuse for magic was one of them. Sometimes she wondered if that feeling would stay.

Friendship. Somehow, it seemed to Rinoa that it was both wonderful, and oddly lonely when it came to Squall.

"Do you think we'll ever find our way outta here?" The words escaped her lips before they had even formed in her mind.

Squall gave a small sigh. "…I don't know." Kneeling upon the leaf-strewn ground, he traced his fingers along the surface, sliding them up the bark of a tree. "I'm beginning to wonder if we CAN leave." His murmur was low, quiet, his brow now furrowed in thought.

"This isn't a forest," he said after a moment. "It's a jungle. We've been wandering for weeks…and we are no closer to getting out of here than we were from the beginning. Something doesn't want us to leave."

Rinoa came beside him, kneeling as well. "What doesn't want us to leave?" Her voice was a soft murmur.

Squall shrugged, standing so swiftly he startled Rinoa, who 'gracefully' fell on her butt. Glaring playfully at him, Rinoa stood as well, dusting herself off. They stood in silence, staring at each other, lost in their thoughts.

"So…are we giving up, then? Will we stop searching?" Rinoa's voice was barely a whisper. Her right hand clutched her left arm in a stance of nervousness.

"I don't want to tell you what to do." Squall's voice was sharper than he'd intended. Sighing in frustration, he rubbed his temples with one hand.

"I wasn't asking you to, Squall." Something in Rinoa's voice made him look up from his hand.

Rinoa held his gaze for a moment, before turning away. "We're a team right now, aren't we? We make decisions together. But incidentally," she turned back toward him, a small smile in place. "Whether you like it or not you lead people Squall, and more importantly, they listen. I know how you feel. It isn't easy, being a leader…" Something in her eyes seemed to glow, though they were etched in sad understanding. "But if we didn't do it, who would?"

Smiling, she turned and began the walk back to their cave.

Squall didn't know how long he stood there, after she left. A minute? An hour? Forty days and nights? He honestly can't tell.

Maybe he didn't want to tell. Maybe time just keeps flowing and flowing and he can't see it or feel it and he wonders if he wants it to stop, wonders if it _can_ stop, and suddenly he feels so uncertain because time has given him this, time has given him Rinoa and maybe he doesn't want to lose that- and maybe he can't lose it- maybe he's so scared of losing it that he can't stand to be without her for a moment and yet here he stands, pondering his life. And it's like the rain, he realizes- falling cold and fast, disappearing before it can take effect, and he realizes that he doesn't _want_ it to go away and he wants to hold it in his palm, shining and wet, sustaining, so that he can feel it on his skin and he can _live._ And everything is snapped into perspective as he stands there stupidly, wondering, wishing, hoping, for the changelessness and he suddenly feels such a sadness in his heart- for who is he to stop change? Maybe he wonders what he really wants- why he's really afraid. And he doesn't answer because he fears the answer more that the situation, because he can't see it, can't see _her_ going away and he curses himself for ever thinking that, for ever_feeling_ that because he has no reason to. Maybe he tries to forget. Maybe he feels grateful for the change because without it he wouldn't have this_need_, this _fear_, and he would be different, the world would be different and somehow less bright and he would remain there forever unable to leave without it. Maybe he wonders how he will leave, if _they_ will leave. If she will smile and laugh with him the way she does now, or if her smile will brighten and glow even more (if that's even possible) and that how maybe he wouldn't mind if that happened, if he forgot her again because then at least he wouldn't have to feel so uncertain as he no longer hears her footsteps, or feels the sun on his face. And he's uncertain because he doesn't know if he wants to go home. But mostly, he doesn't know where to find his home- what his home is. And he's uncertain because now he's questioning- why, how, who, where, when, and he doesn't understand _why_ these things never mattered before, _how_ he can feel this way, _who _he can blame for this pain, this bliss, _where _he can go from here (assuming he makes it out of course), and _when_ he will figure it out so he can stop feeling this way…

Then again, maybe he just walked away.

Maybe he just walked after Rinoa. Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe he wants to stop the maybe, stop the _wondering_ because, honestly, he just doesn't know how to say it and it _hurts_, and he doesn't know why.

But_certainly_, he left._Certainly_, he went back to his shelter. He did. And he wondered why that was the only thing his mind _didn't_ question.

Squall found Rinoa leaning against the side of the cave, a small fire crackling nearby. "Hey," she murmurs when he approaches. He nodded, coming to sit on the other side of the cave, facing her.

For a moment, they sit in silence.

Finally, Rinoa breaks it. Squall is glad, because he doesn't think he can tolerate any more silence from her.

"Do…do you think we'll ever get out of here?"

But she doesn't even let him answer. Not even shrug, before she switches to another question.

"Do we…want to get out of here?"

Squall finds it amazing that Rinoa would have the same thoughts and wonders as his own, and he finds himself amazed that he _likes_ it. Rinoa continues to babble on.

"I mean- of _course_ we want to get out of here, but what about all that's going on? I mean, suddenly we have a different choice, don't we? We don't have to fight the sorceress- we can stay here and live and not worry anymore and maybe live in peace. Maybe we don't have to worry about anything out there anymore, and maybe whatever's keeping us here just wants to help, and maybe-" She cuts herself off. She stares dejectedly into the fire. Giving a little laugh, one that's her complete opposite, worried and sad and so _not_ Rinoa that Squall almost flinches as it escapes her lips.

"Maybe, maybe, maybe…" She murmured, closing her eyes for a brief moment. Without opening them, she says, " Do you ever think things might be different, Squall? That if I hadn't been looking for Cid that day at the seeD graduation ball, we wouldn't be sitting here now. We never would have met…" Rinoa laughs again, only this time it's_her_ and it is beautiful as always. Opening her eyes she cocked an eyebrow at Squall.

"Listen to me…I am being ridiculous. It doesn't matter what _might_ have been. All that matters is what _is._ The now, this moment." Suddenly she's confident. "We will get out of here Squall, I know it!"

Rinoa smiled at him. And Squall feels words pouring from his lips before they even pass through his thoughts.

"Sometimes…I wonder."

"About what?" And suddenly, Rinoa is there, beside him, looking curious and cute and simply herself.

"Everything, it seems. Sometimes…I wonder if I want to leave too."

Rinoa smiles, used to his non-verbage, thinking that he is done talking. But he's not, and he finds that he can't stop.

"Sometimes I wonder why I'm fighting the sorceress. I know she has to be stopped but I just think: 'why do I have to do it? Why do I have to clean up the world's goddamn mess'? And why does it feel so…" but he stops, suddenly, because he realizes that he's _confiding_ in her, _depending_ on her, and he hates it and suddenly he hates everything about her and the world, though mostly he just hates himself. But then he's just worn-out. Overused; tired. And he doesn't hate her anymore, and he realizes he never hated her, _could_ never hate her.

"I know Squall, believe me, I know." Rinoa smiles at him again- and this time it's soft and gentle. "It…hurts…doesn't it?" Her eyes are sad now. "The uncertainty hurts. But you don't want it to go away because the only thing you're _certain_about is the uncertainty. The questions. You can't live in ignorance after tasting the truth- you just can't."

Rinoa placed her fingertips lightly upon the ring that hung on her necklace. "When I remembered…what I did…I wanted to wash it away, forget. But I realized that if I did that, I wouldn't survive- wouldn't be the same. I couldn't live that way. So I decided that I'm just going to live one day at a time. Maybe we'll be found here or we'll escape. Maybe we'll defeat the sorceress. Maybe again. I'll only ever find out by living it, won't I?"

And Squall finds himself speechless- actually incapable of talking because of her announcement.

"I don't know my mother's name." Suddenly the words spring forth and he wants to tell Rinoa about himself. He continues. "Or my father's name. I've…always wondered…" He pauses, gauging her expression. "I just wanted to know their names. I didn't want to find them. I just wanted to get an idea of them- a picture in my head. But I still don't know."

Squall can't say anymore, not that the really wants to, and he looks away from Rinoa, his head in shadow from the fire.

"Squall…" Rinoa moved around him so that he was facing her once more. "You know…" She placed her finger under his chin, forcing his face upward, to her eyes. "Everyone needs to depend on someone once in a while, Squall. Everyone needs someone to lean against sometimes." Rinoa laid back, her head placed lightly upon the stone wall.

She stared at him for a long while. Her eyes seemed to take in everything about him in what Squall later discovered was only a few seconds. Rinoa gazed at him, before smiling slightly. "Come here," Rinoa murmured, patting the space next to her. Squall hesitated.

"It's alright. I don't bite unless you really annoy me." Squall shifted slightly but otherwise made no attempt to come closer.

"It's alright, Squall…" Her voice was a sweet, soft, melody. "You can Lean On Me. Even you need to sometimes…."

"Come on, Squall…it's okay." Rinoa was still murmuring quietly. "Lean On Me…you haven't done it nearly often enough."

And Squall finds himself seeming to be pulled forward, and suddenly he's next to her again. "Lean On Me, Squall…" Rinoa whispered.

Squall came forward, placing his shoulder against hers. And that was when he noticed their different sizes: Rinoa was small and smooth, while he was big and battle-scared. But he also discovered, as he found himself slumping forward with weariness, that he liked this difference. Rinoa's easy breathing filled his ears as he found himself drifting in and out of consciousness.

A small part of his brain sent an unbidden, unwanted message to Squall as he feel asleep.

Maybe leaning upon, maybe depending upon, someone wasn't so bad after all…

* * *

Well, nothin' too exciting. But I hope you enjoyed! 

'Kay, here's the reviews:

HungryDemon: Thanks- I'm glad you liked chapter four so much. Sorry if 5 was sappy, hopefully it won't get much more than that. Thanks for the long review- I love em'. Hope you like this one!

Xergen -LIGHT-: (Blushes) Wow! I'm really flattered. I'm glad you like this so much.

Rinny87: I'm soooooooo happy you like this! ) I've never finsihed Kingdom Heart 1, and I agree 2 is AWESOME!!!

Freyjadour: HeeHee. Glad I was able to make it suspenceful. )

rinnyheartillyizawesome: it's okay that you didn't review before...I certaintly know what it's like to be busy... thanks for reviewing now, though! I'm glad you think everything was great!

boothbones4ever2ghether: This story should be about as long as the game, plus an epilouge. So, yeah, it'll be long. Plus. I'm doing a sequel, called Wedding Bells and the Wrath of Hell- check out info on it on my profile! Thanks for reviewing!

Azarethian Titan: Of course I took notice! Thanks for commenting anyways... )

That's it! Next Chap. Preview:

Find Me: While Squall and Rinoa become ever closer, the others desperately try to find them. And with a little luck and some digging, Squall and Rinoa may be reunited with their companions...(Warning- they will be leaving the jungle soon- and this chap won't have them in it so much. Hopefully I'll be able to get the other characters right too.)

And next, a poll. If you've read my profile, you'll know that I'm gonna do a FF/Twighlight fic. So you, my faithful reviewers, will vote on which one it'll be.

FF8 Rinoa-Bella, Squall-Edward, Selphie-Alice Irvine-Jasper Quistis-Rosealie Seifer-Emmet Laguna-Carlisle Raine-Esme Sell is just another member of the family (come on I can't do it without him...)

FF7 Aerith-Bella, Cloud-Edward, Yuffie-Alice, Vincent-Jasper, Tifa-Rosealie, Reno-Emmet, Cid-Carlisle, Shera-Esme

FF9 Garnet-Bella, Zidane-Edward, Eiko-Alice, Vivi-Jasper, Beatrix-Rosealie, Stiener-Emmet, Freya-Esme, Fratly-Carlisle

No matter what you vote, ultimately the choice is mine- I'll do whatever imspires me, but I still wanna know what you think.

Catch ya on the flip side,

AerithHeart


	7. Find Me

An update! (Suffers from heart attack)Oh no! Now there will be no more updates!

Kidding. Please don't kill me.

Not a whole lot happens, but I am all set for the next chapter, and with any luck it will be up later today.

I present to you...

**YOU KNOW YOU'RE OBSESSED WITH FINAL FANTASY WHEN...**

1. You dress up as one of the characters for Halloween or a Cosplay at least once... (Guilty. I was Rinoa for Halloween)

2. You spend hours watching trailers/and/or clips from any of the games or movies...

3. You own Final Fantasy Advent Children, and have seen it at least ten times... (Guilty)

4. You look up the lyrics to the songs online and sing them- even if you don't understand the words... (Guilty. I'm currently on Suki Di Nae from FFX)

5. When ever you see a guy wearing more than one belt, you think 'Squall Leonheart'...

* * *

Chapter Seven

Find Me

_**Seven Weeks Ago…**_

Scattered thoughts swam before her eyes. She stirred, bringing a delicate- though battle scarred- hand up to her temple. She blinked, eyes taking in her surroundings confusedly.

Quistis blinked. "What…happened…?" She rolled over on her flat mattress, finding that her arm was in a splint and that her face was in the dirt. Spluttering, she stood. As the memories rushed back to her, Quistis clutched her arm. It was wrapped securely in bandages. Absently, she brushed her long golden locks out of her face. The sound of footsteps shook her out of her reverie- and Quistis glanced up to see Zell bounding toward her, smiling. A bandage was wrapped around his head, but he seemed otherwise unharmed.

"Quisty!" He exclaimed, shaking her good arm excitedly. "You're finally awake!"

Quistis looked around, the white walls of Garden- ones that were very familiar to her. She was in the infirmary, and the curtains and simple plainness were something of a comfort. Briefly, she smiled at her energetic friend.

"Where are the others?"

At this Zell's smile faded. "Selphie and Irvine are talking to Cid right now…they're mostly okay, though Selphie hurt her ankle. Irvine covered in scratches though- not so confident that the 'ladies' will go for the rugged look." He sighed. "Squall and Rinoa…we haven't found them yet."

Quistis gasped. "But, surely they are in the forest or somewhere nearby! I remember them falling…" She trailed off as Zell shook his head.

"It's not that simple." He lightly placed a hand on his bandaged forehead. "We don't know much, and we won't until Selphie and Irvine get back to us. I was ordered to wait here and brief you if you woke up- Dr. Kadowaki is tending to some others right now."

Silence fell between them. Finally, when Quistis felt as though it was thicker than pea soup, she spoke- asking one of the many questions burned in her mind. "That…thing…creature…did we kill it?"

Zell closed his eyes for a moment. "I don't know. None of us do. We fought it- but it seemed like we barely scratched it…Selphie says that she saw it run off before she collapsed. But, there aren't even tracks to show that we fought any damn thing in the first place!" He clenched his fists in anger.

The movement reminded Quistis of something. "Zell," she questioned, fingers moving gently over her wrapped arm. He turned his attention back to her. "Why are we wearing bandages? These wounds…shouldn't they have been easily healed? A Curaga would have made easy work of a hurt ankle and scratches- wouldn't it?"

Zell nodded grimly before looking away. Still not looking at her, he answered- "The magic had little effect. Our supplies were almost exhausted by trying to use them at first. The more time that passed, the easier it was to use them, but…" He sighed, finally turning back to her. "We're not sure why…all we can determine is that whatever that…thing…was, it somehow nullified any magic used around it. And because it attacked us, our wounds were affected the same way." Quistis was silent.

Unable to stand the quiet, Zell nervously began to jump on one foot, switching from side to side. His shoes squeaked loudly on the floor, but Quistis did not react. Her suddenly icy eyes were staring hard at a fixed point on her arm. Finally she spoke, raising her frightened eyes to Zell's.

"What…" She whispered, clutching her arm to herself- "Could possibly have the power to do that…?"

"We don't know."

Quistis nodded, turning her gaze elsewhere. "That is what I am afraid of."

A small dinging sound made them both jump. The intercom system came on- Cid's voice issuing out of it.

"_SeeD members Zell Dincht and Quistis Trepe to the main deck immediately. It is urgent. Thank you."_

Zell and Quistis glanced at each other for a moment before hurrying out of the infirmary. "Out of the way!" Zell bellowed, barreling though a converging of the Trepies, all carrying flowers to wish their idol well. Quistis was right behind him, relieved to have woken up when she did at the sight of the sprawling Trepies on the ground, their magnolia flowers scattered. She had to fight the strangest desire to laugh out loud.

The elevator did not seem to move fast enough. Impatiently, Zell jabbed a good five or six more times at the 'Up' button before the doors opened and they raced out to greet the Headmaster and their comrades.

Once the lift ascended to the top, Quistis could not fight the relief she felt at seeing Selphie and Irvine- but the grim looks on their faces shook her out of the brief happiness. Selphie was sporting a splint on her ankle, and Irvine's face was indeed covered with healing scratches.

"What did you find?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

Selphie- her normally bright green eyes dull and drooping, answered. "They are in the forest under the cliff, we know that much. But we don't know where- and it's as though there is some kind of force field around it. The Garden can't get in."

"We have a vague idea of where they landed," Irvine continued. The scars around his face stretched as his mouth moved, causing him to wince as he spoke. "But the forest seems to nearly cancel out all magic, just as the beast did. Headmaster Cid thinks that we should find out all that we can on the forest- because it shouldn't be able to have that kind of power- or immunity to it." He sighed heavily. "So no just charging in there. For all we know, it could be a trap of some sort."

Headmaster Cid, back turned toward them, patted Nida on the shoulder and pointed in the direction they were to go. He turned with a grim smile to the others. "We're flying to an old friend of mine- one that may be able to tell us about the forest."

Zell made an impatient sound- the Headmaster turned to look at him.

"I don't get it- who gives a damn if there is power in the forest? We can find them, and save them! They wouldn't have spent time talkin' or worrying about THEIR lives!" Zell glared at the people around him. "This is messed up, man! We need to find them!"

When he was met with silence, Zell let out a roar and thrust his fist into the wall, a loud metallic clang ringing throughout the room- causing the others to jump. "DAMMIT!" he shouted, pounding his fist against the wall again.

"Zell, please understand-" Cid began, hand reaching out peacefully. But Zell cut across him. "Understand _what_ old man? Understand that you are too much of a coward to do anything?!? Understand that our friends are out there, maybe _dying_ and you want to wait to save them!?!? No- I don't _understand_ why we are leaving them to die while we think only of our own FRIGGIN LIVES!!!" He stared at them all, breathing heavily.

"Don't you _dare_." Quistis's voice was low, threatening. Her eyes were steely as she came forward to glare at Zell, her uninjured arm tense and shaking as she clenched her fist. "Don't you dare imply that we do not want to rescue them. Don't you DARE think that we will let them die!" Tears choked her throat. She blinked them back from her eyes stubbornly. "They can't be dead! Don't say it- don't _ever say it_- because they can't die! They can't!" Slowly, she drew back, breathing ragged.

"They're okay. They have to be…" Her voice was barely a whisper now.

Cid sighed heavily. "You…have no idea- the power that lies within that place. It is staggering. You cannot just rush in there- for what good will you be to Squall or Rinoa dead?" He ran a hand over his face. "We will find a way. We will rescue them." With that, he turned and stepped on the lift.

The others watched him go.

"Zell…" Selphie murmured. "Quistis…Irvine…" They turned to stare at her. She gave a bright smile. "Don't anybody worry! Rinoa has Squall to take care of her- and he has her to look after him!"

They stared at each other for a moment, processing this statement.

"Damn," Irvine muttered, pushing his hat up over his eyes. "They won't last two days- they'll murder each other."

They couldn't help it- they all burst out laughing.

It wasn't the laughing that they were used to. It was laughter that came when you were simply happy to be alive, when you were in situations so weird and scary that they were ridiculous. It was laughter that held no happiness, but was used so that one could remember that happiness existed.

And though they did not speak out loud, Zell, Quistis, Selphie, and even Irvine thought the same thing as the laughter died away.

'_We'll find you, Squall and Rinoa. Just hang on. We're coming…'_

((((((((((((Present Time)))))))))))))

"So…are you sure that I'm doing this right?"

The look on his face made her explain herself hurriedly.

"Just making sure! Sheesh! One little question and sudden you're shooting fire out of your eyes," Rinoa adjusted her grip on Lionheart. She grinned at Squall as he rolled his eyes- watching her movements and the handling of his precious Gunblade carefully.

"Relax Squall, I'm not going to break it," Rinoa smiled, eyes twinkling. Squall restrained from rolling his eyes with difficulty.

He came up behind her, gripping her arms lightly, putting them in the appropriate position again. Unseen by him, Rinoa blushed slightly, struggling to listen to what he was saying. "The bullets do damage on their own, but they'll do a lot more if you don't hit the trigger 'till a split second before the sword hits. Give it a try."

"Alright…" Rinoa regarded the weapon for a moment with nervousness, as though she was positive it wouldn't work. She glanced up, staring at the assembled brambles and branches that they had piled together in the rough likeness of a monster. Taking a deep breath, she charged forward, swinging the blade high over her head. Her finger pulled the trigger a split second before the blade sunk into the branches- resulting in a boom and a rebound that knocked her off her feet. Rinoa landed with a thump on the ground, starring in bewilderment at the smoldering tree beyond the pile, and at her own position on the ground.

Squall snorted with what seemed to be suppressed laughter. "Did I forget to mention that firing at that moment would increase the power of the rebound as well?"

Rinoa glared up at him as she got to her feet, brushing dust off of herself -_not that it really makes any difference, _she reminded herself looking at her dirty clothing. "You did forget that little detail, yes."

"Well, now you know."

Rinoa huffed, blowing hair out of her eyes. She laughed, twirling it around her finger. "Wow, my hair has grown a lot. When we get out of here-" She stopped, her good mood gone.

Though they had both agreed that somehow, they would leave the forest, they never spoke of it. It was as though they were under a silent agreement to leave the words unsaid- for if they said them aloud, there was the hope and promise of possibility.

There was the chance that it would come true.

They had gone over it in their heads and hearts- and still they had no answer that they were satisfied with.

To stay…

Or to go…

They both knew, that in the end they would leave. But they had never lived this way before- so close and without worry of the outside. They had never before been in a place where they were free.

But they weren't free in the forest, either. They knew it- could feel this being pulsing and writhing; holding them there in the forest that never seemed to end. They knew that they couldn't leave.

But they didn't know how much they wanted to.

Squall stared at her for a moment, his eyes asking questions but giving no answers of their own. When he spoke, his voice was surprisingly gentle.

"Okay, let's try this again…"

((((((((((((Six Weeks ago)))))))))))

The castle stood prominent and wasted against the black backdrop of the sky. A group of people gathered outside it- staring in wonder at what was surely once a beautiful architectural masterpiece. Now however, the walls had crumbled, the ceiling was falling in, and moss had grown over the doors and windows.

"Well, here we are," Headmaster Cid said, gesturing lamely toward the ruin.

At the look on the other's faces he said complacently- "Oh, don't worry, it's always looked like that. Xavier said that one was truly a part of the planet only when the planet was not held down. He thinks that it's the best way to learn." With that, he began to make his way around the rubble, toward the door. Quistis, Zell, Selphie, and Irvine stared after him, shaking their heads bemusedly.

One by one, they followed.

As they walked, Quistis looked down at her now healed arm for a moment. Though still not up to their full effect, the magic had finally healed them enough to take their bandages off. The prospect of not using healing magic scared her- and show just how much they relied on the magic that many condemned. Without their healing or their attack magics, they accomplished little. Quistis shivered slightly at the thought of what some would give to know just how vunerable they could be in those times. She looked up as they crossed what remained of the threshold, and entered a long hallway

Here, there were also the remnants of spectacular. The walls were peeling and corroded with rot- but there were small bits that seemed to shine in a subtle sort of way. The floor was gone- so that as they trudged through the castle, they walked on grass that brushed their knees.

"Amazing," Quistis breathed, examining a flower with purple and white petals, which quivered slightly as her breath passed it.

"EEEAHH!" Irvine shrieked, dancing around and throwing his long coat off- "SPIDER! GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF!"

"Irvy," Selphie said, "Calm down- I'll get it off you…"

She came forward, the grass almost up to her waist rather than her knees- standing on tiptoes so that she could grab the thing crawling on Irvine's neck.

"Oh relax Irvine. It's not a spider."

"It's not?" Irvine let out a breath of relief. "Thank Hyne."

"Nope. It's a centipede."

"Oh- A CENTIPEDE!?!? AHHHHHH!"

Selphie snickered as Irvine ran around in a circle, proclaiming an assortment of abnormalities because he had suffered from the 'bite' of the centipede. She winked and held up a harmless cattail. Quickly, she chased after him before he got lost.

When they returned, Irvine was rather pink in the face- his scars standing out more than ever. He also seemed to be restraining himself from strangling Selphie.

Though she rolled her eyes and said that they should get going before they lost the path Cid had taken, Quistis wondered how goo it was that they could still play around while two of their comrades- their friends –were in danger. She sighed slightly.

They continued on their way.

As they walked, with only Cid's never ceasing (though steadily slowing) footsteps to guide them, they found themselves pushing branches and vines out of their way. The air became humid and hot, and a faint mist seemed to descend upon them.

Finally, they stumbled through the vegetation and found themselves in front of a large, wooden door with vines growing up the sides. The knockers were rusted, in the shape of a large key.

They looked around, wondering where their headmaster had gone, and if they had reached the right place. Quistis bit her lip in frustration.

Before she could say anything, however, the door opened and Cid's face appeared. Behind him, the room pulsed with silver light. He smiled lightly. "I apologize for leaving you waiting, but this gave me the chance to brief Xavier on everything. You all may come in now." He began to retreat back into the room. He paused. "Oh." He turned back to them, bringing his head closer and whispering- "I have known Xavier for a long time, but he is...not used to human contact. Just be prepared. His is quite courteous," Cid added, seeing the confusion on their faces. "But he does not have much...faith...in humankind. You may find yourself having to prove your worth to him. Well," he smiled brightly. "Let's go in, shall we?"

The others exchanged worried glances. It was Selphie that reacted first, giving a determined nod, before striding forward. Seeing the other's surprised stares, Selphie smiled. "Well," she said, fingering her yellow dress absently, her bright green eyes looking at the ground. "If all we have to do, is prove our worth as humans...don't you think that our desire to save those we care about prove that...?" She looked up at them all and smiled slightly.

Without another word, she walked past Cid, and into the room, and the faint silver light coming from it.

One by one, the others followed.

* * *

Cliffhanger! 

Well, like I said, you hopefully won't have to wait for long. And the next chapter should be longer as well.

REVIEWS!!!

DONT USE UNLESS CYLONS ATTACK - Thank you for the review. I agree, many AU stories are rather weird. And thank you for the input on Twilight, though I don't agree with you about the couples. I'm glad to know that you really like this! But a word of advice- if you review, I would really appreciate it if you didn't shorten the words like with text messages. It's something that sort of bugs me, and to be honest, I have no idea what they mean half the time.

Xergen -LIGHT- -Thank you! -the emoticon which showers you with flowers- Yeah, I think in Squall and Rinoa's relationship, they really have to take it slow, so having them needing and wanting to depend on each other helps. I'll have to check out your Kingdom Hearts fic- and why were you in the hospital?

Roses and Wine- Thank you! And yes, it's supposed to be cute and sweet. I love the part with them as children too.

Jayliyah- Thank you. Yeah, this story started out on a whim, and look what it has grown into! Yep, Squall has a 'thing' for her- he just doesn't realize it. This will go through the whole game, with more stuff added in, and some stuff sort of glazed over. But I plan for this to be pretty long, as well as with a sequel called 'Wedding Bells and the Wrath of Hell'.

Freyjadour- Yeah. They will be in the next chapter more, and they will answer some of those questions. And they are really becoming closer. I PROMISE to get the next chapter up faster. Thanks for reviewing!

Rinny87- thank you very much. Sometimes I am over-critical of my own work. I've read the chapter over and I like it more after reading it a few times. You got to Ansem? I didn't get even halfway. I got lost in the vines at Tarzan's jungle. But I've gotten a good amount in KH2. The only reason I really want to beat the first one is to see Cloud and Aerith reunite in the credits... Thank you for the great reviews!

rinnyheartillyizawesome- I already responded to your review, but I want to thank you for the song. I give you full credit for the fact that it will appear in this story!

Azarethian Titan- This chapter's not much longer- but the next one will be! I'm glad you thought that the message was sweet! ) thanks for the review, as always!

Whew! That's it!

Also, what disc and what time do the characters meet up with NORG? I don't know if it has already happened in this story or if I need to put it in. I don't have time to play the game and find out. Does anyone remember?

Thank you! Please Review!

Next Chapter Preview:

An Answer: Squall finds himself taking a trip down memory lane and thinking of a certain letter, sent by a certain girl...and comes to a few realizations in the process. Meanwhile, Quistis and the others are told a shocking story of a powerful being and the strange GF forever bound to him- and the fate of any that wander into his forest... Knowing that their friends are in danger, they vow to do anything to get them back. But in order for them to return, something of equal value must be given...


	8. Answer Me

Hey! I updated early! This chapter is also a bit longer than normal, so...But no updates from me for about a week- spring break is here and I'm going camping. But when I get back I WILL write!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Final Fantasy, or the song Taking over Me.

**You Know You're Obsessed with Final Fantasy When...**

**6. You cannot watch/hear about Dragon Ball Z without thinking of Zidane (Because of the tails)**

**7. You write stories/draw fanart for all the games- maybe even ones you've never played.**

**8. Everytime you see a guy carrying a sword that is far too big and wide for him- you wonder how he stole Cloud's sword.**

**9. You cannot hear a song without somehow connecting it to the characters or planning an FMV**

**10. You ask your coach if you can start a blitzball team**

Enjoy!**  
**

* * *

Chapter Eight

Answer Me

_I believe in you  
I'll give up everything just to find you_

The room was unlike anything they could have imagined, even with their vague ideas from the other parts of the castle. Quistis found herself forgetting all dignity and gaped openly.

The room was the larges that they had come across; but how large, no one was sure. It seemed as though they had walked from a path carved by passage, into a thick and uninhabited jungle. Trees with twisted limbs reached up to an invisible ceiling, over which a dank mist hung. Thick, ropey vines twisted up the walls, while moss and grass covered the floor they walked on, cracking the stone tiles.

The silver light seemed to be pulsating from a circle of tree roots and vines upon the floor, in what seemed to be the middle of a small clearing. Though unable to see it well, Quistis rather thought that the surface of the circle resembled a mirror.

And beside it, stood a man that was cloaked in shadow. His head was bent, and in the pulsing silver light, Quistis could see that the color of his hair was coal black- almost polar opposite of the light.

He looked up as they approached.

Cid smiled very slightly, coming forward to stand by his friend. The others stood transfixed, caught in the gaze of the strange man.

His eyes were a penetrating power- and they were all held in thrall by his bright silver gaze.

Slowly, his eyes roamed over each of them- staring into their very depths. It was not the kind of stare which one shared with a lover or a friend; but rather a stare that looked effortlessly and ruthlessly through those depths. It was a gaze that searched for something; something that had to be found whether or not it harmed the person that held it.

It was a terrifying stare.

Quistis bit her lip, struggling to keep her mouth closed; a cry billowing up her throat like smoke up a chimney. His eyes frightened her; not as Squall's sometimes had, with their coldness, but because he seemed to be so huge- not in body, but in power and mind. As though he were a mere hologram or extension of something great, powerful, and terrible. He stared into her eyes; and then moved his awesome gaze away.

Selphie was his next victim. Her large green eyes seemed to tremble as he stared into them. She felt as though she needed to gasp for breath, but dared not fill her lungs. He was so much more than she herself was, so sure and powerful- while she was a nothing; insignificant. She was scared because she had never before come across someone with the look of one that knew too much. She had never seen a person with eyes so full of pain that it hurt and terrified her heart to see it- someone that had known too much life. Finally, he looked to the next person.

Zell felt that it was one of those times when he wanted to rely on his instincts alone- instincts that told him to run or fight –rather than stand his guard. It was also one of those times where he couldn't rely on those instincts to save him. He was a martial artist- he plowed and punched his way through any wall in his path- so why did such eyes leave him so immobilized? It was as though this man with silver eyes knew of Zell's every doubt, every lie... every good or bad thing that he had done, and this man would pass judgment on him for those actions. The iron gaze haunted him- and would continue to haunt him even as the silver eyes turned away.

Irvine had once said that because he was a sharpshooter, he was a loner by nature. Now, he knew that if he were able, he would go back and force those words up his mouth. Staring into the silver gaze, he knew what it meant to be truly alone. The man was so connected to everything around him- to every stare that he shared and yet... he was more alone than anyone Irvine had ever met. Because this man knew of such pain- of both the good and the bad – it set him so apart from all that he knew because he had true wisdom. And true suffering. Unconsciously, Irvine gripped his gun tighter as the moments passed, until the silver gaze moved away.

For a moment, the man was silent. Then a slow smile came upon his face, and he spoke.

"Very well."

He turned his back to them, staring at the circle on the floor.

Cid coughed slightly, more to break the silence than anything else. The others turned to look at him. He smiled lightly. "This is Xavier," Cid said, gesturing toward the silver-eyed man. "He may be able to help us."

Xavier kneeled in front of the circle. Slowly, he waved one of his hands over it, muttering under his breath. He spoke abruptly- "Tell me, where is this forest located again?"

Unconsciously, they all came to draw around him and the circle that he leaned over. Bending her head a little, Quistis saw what seemed to be a pool of gently swirling water. The silver light was even brighter up close, and Quistis found herself squinting slightly.

"By the mountains on the Centra continent," Cid said, breaking the tension.

Xavier nodded once, bending down and gripping the vines that circled around the pool of light. He stared intently into its depths for a moment. Suddenly, the light began to pulse faster and faster, like a racing heartbeat. With each pulse of light Xavier's body jerked, his silver eyes glowing in time with the pool.

Impulsively, Quistis stepped back in shock and horror.

The others made sounds of distress, looking to Cid for reassurance. He gave a strained smile as Xavier's body stopped jerking and slumped slightly for a moment. Slowly, panting, he raised himself to his feet. The pool began to glow a golden color, while Xavier stood above it, head bent. Slowly, he raised his head- and Quistis could not fight down her gasp at the sight of his equally golden eyes.

"_There is a tale to be told..."_ He rasped, fists clenching slightly. _"Come,"_ he gestured to the pool, for them to gather around it. They obeyed, and as they stood over it, the contents swirled.

A shadow appeared- roughly humanoid in shape.

"_Once, there was a boy..."_ Xavier murmured, as the pool rippled and the dark human shadow moved.

"_A boy that sought power. As luck would have it, he stumbled across a Guardian- a beast unlike any he had imagined. Together, for the want of power, they joined souls. But they were not satisfied. And as one being, they set out in search of even more power."_

The pool rippled again, this time the creature that they had battled filling the surface, striding as neither earth nor shadow could hold.

"_A greater power knew of their seeking, and devised a way to stop them. He summoned the creature with a bonded soul and said- _

"_**You wish for more power, I can give it to you. But for a price."**_

_They accepted in their greed, without care of the price. _

"_**Very well,"**__ the god replied. __**"I give you the power of immortality, the power of ancient magics, and ultimate control over this forest- you may do anything within here, make it anything you wish. I give you this because of your determination. But, for your greed, I demand this price: For all that I have given you, you must be forever bound to this forest, until destiny seeks out your power for good. But your power can only be obtained by destiny, as you obtained yours- only if something of equal value is given in return." **_

_The creatures screamed in agony and despair- but the god's word was law, and they were forever bound to the forest, until the ones rightful for their power was able to seek them out."_

The pool was absorbed with darkness, and the ripples ceased. Slowly, the light returned to it's original color- as did Xavier's eyes. He shook for a moment, closing his eyes tightly. "And so another joins the circle," he murmured softly, opening his sad, knowing, eyes. He looked up at them.

"Perhaps your friends are the destiny. Or perhaps you are. But one thing is for sure..." He stood, slowly, tremblingly, coal-black hair wiped from his brow. He stared each of them in the face again; but this time it was different. This time the eyes were not so terrifying as they were sad. Sad for himself, and sad for the deed he would perhaps commit by telling them of his knowledge. He felt such sadness for the sacrifice.

"In order for you to get your friends back- you must give something of equal value in return."

(((((((Now))))))  
_  
I have to be with you  
To live, to breathe  
You're taking over me _

The flames licked at the sky- sustaining, everlasting, hungry.

They danced among the stars- danced with them, he knew, in ways that nature only knew how to do. His eyes moved effortlessly over the trees and the fog- the world that had become his refuge. A refuge that he been forced upon him, he knew, and the feeling of _wanting_ did not cease- it would not cease. He turned his gaze to the sleeping woman beside him and knew that to be true. Now that he had found it, he would never escape this wanting- this _needing_. With it came hope, and he found himself frightened.

The flames caressed her edges, he realized. Gentle, coaxing- as if the every bounds of nature knew how precious she was. How precious she had become- and how easily she could be broken by his rough edges. **Is this the fear of oneself**, he wondered. **The terrifying thought that you have the power to hurt those held in your heart?** How had he not seen it before- this fear of himself, this ability he had to hurt. Perhaps the forest was playing with his mind; perhaps nature was giving him clarity. Perhaps it was merely and epiphany. Then again, perhaps it was just her.

Squall closed his eyes- and the flames burned within him. The power to destroy- to shape destiny and leave war in his wake. The flames seared his heart and mind- the hate and the anger would perhaps consume him. The darkness was closing in- he could feel it. He would not last must longer, and live. Squall knew he would die- not in body, but everywhere that counted.

A soft murmur came from Rinoa, and the darkness recoiled as the part of him that still lived swelled at the sound. He opened his eyes and stared at her for a moment. The seconds- hours, months, years – ticked by as Squall looked at her face, and felt a kind of hope that hurt, yes, but not as the other hope had. This hope hurt like a muscle that was growing stronger- something that would one day be sustaining.

Squall closed his eyes.

The flames flickered, and died.

((((((Then))))))

_He was alone again. Not that he minded of course- though a part of him seemed to ache at the loss of time when he hadn't felt alone. For those few minutes- hours, months – that she had been there._

_Squall knew, even at age seven, what it meant to care about someone. _

_The rock he sat on looked over the sea. Waves lapped at the edge- the roaring water accompanied with the sound of the others playing on the shore. He turned away from them, hopping down off the rock and into the cool ocean water. _

_The water went only up to his knees, though it grew steadily deeper with each step he took. Soon, his chest was beneath the freezing and frothing waves. The water tugged at him- calling to bring him to a watery haven from which he would never return. He trudged on. Slowly, he edged around the boulder, fingers curling on the coral and rock he knew to be there. The sharp edged cut at his gloves, but he was still provided with enough protection against the cutting rock. The salt of the water pulled at his nose, and he stopped for a moment, gagging slightly. Taking another step forward, he braced himself, ready to sink even lower into the shadowy depths- gasping in surprise as his foot met a solid surface. Squinting through the mist that clung to the rocks, he was able to make out a small opening- like a cave. Cautiously, he approached it. _

_Abruptly the water grew deeper and Squall found himself plunging into the sea, hands scrabbling at the edges of the hole. His fingers grasped the rock, and he pulled himself forward, through the hole. _

_His head broke the surface and he gasped- coughing and spluttering as he struggled to tread the water. As he regained his awareness, he looked around at the cave he had pulled himself into. _

_The walls were not very high- if Squall were to stand on the surface of the water his head would bump on the top. A little away from him was a small sand bank- a collection of shells and broken bottles littering the bank. Slowly, he swam over to it, a strange feeling rising inside of him._

_The feeling grew as his boots sunk into the sand, and his hands (covered by sopping gloves) grabbed at the loose grains. He pulled himself up- knees burying themselves in the sand. Shivering, he crawled over to the other side of the bank, staring at a slowly revolving bottle that was completely intact. It bobbed up and down in the swinging waves- the current keeping it close to the bank, though not for long. Blindly, without thought, Squall reached for the bottle. _

_His fingers closed around it- and he slowly brought it up to his face. _

_Brow furrowed as the strange feeling swelled like never before, he noticed a curled piece of paper crammed into the bottle. _

_Squall reached for the cork, pulling it out after a few moments of struggle._

_He turned the bottle up side down, fingers working at the edges of the paper. Slowly, he pried it out. The letter fell onto his knees, curled in a tight roll. _

_The feeling threatened to choke his throat as he reached trembling fingers down, and opened the letter. A fairly neat writing greeted him:_

_Dear Squall,_

_I think a part of me hates my father. But the bigger part of me just wants to know why my mommy is gone. Why she will not be able to hug me anymore. How am I spossed to be happy without my mommy? I want to hurt somthing so bad that somone can feel what I feel. I can't cry anymore 'cause my tears wont fall. But I 'member you. I 'member how I said we were best I. And how you made me smile again. And I wanted to see you. I wanted you to find me, just like I know this leter will find you. Even though we're far away from each other- I know we'll meet again. I know we will 'cause our hearts are conected. I knew that if anybody could save me it was you. I beleive in you. I I that I'll see you again. I have to so that the darknes wont pull me away too. It's a darknes that my night-light cant chase away. I'm so scared. I'm scared 'cause I can't feel happy until you're here. I'm scared 'cause a part of me wants to run into the darknes. _

_How can I stop the darknes, Squall? _

_Maybe if you can save me, we can find out. _

_I'll be waiting for you – foreber if I have to. _

_Love,_

_Rinoa_

_Squall stared at the paper, heart pounding as he read Rinoa's words. Slowly, his fingers traced her writing. The feeling was still in him, but spreading so that it wasn't so suffocating. The feeling consumed his body and he found himself smiling. It had been one year since he had seen her- and she still had the same effect on him. He tucked the letter into the bottle again, and put the cork back in. Slowly, he stood. _

_For a moment, the world seemed to teeter on an edge. On one side was the abyss- on the other a long road to happiness. Time froze in place as Squall stood in the little cave- not caring that his head was at an odd angle because of the top of the cave. Then time flowed again- and the world fell down the start of a long journey._

_Squall grasped the bottle in his hand. _

"_Rinoa," he whispered. "I'm coming..."_

_**Six months later...**_

_Rain fell on his face._

_It didn't matter. Nothing mattered._

_She was leaving._

_He stared down the road for as long as he could- until the brown of her hair and the green dress she wore faded. At the last moment, she looked back- and he didn't know if the water that fell down her face was tears or rain or both –as she raised her hand in farewell._

_She was gone. _

_The others were crying around him. Matron gathered them together and brought them inside. After a moment of hesitation, she merely touched his shoulder, leaving him alone- as she knew he wanted to be. _

_When they were gone and the doors were closed- only then did he let the pain show. _

_A cry escaped from him- a cry that threatened to shatter the earth and shake the stars as he threw is head back and let the cry consume him. The cry pulled itself from his throat- burning and breaking even as he gasped for breath. The cry was lost in the thunder. _

_Eventually, the cry died and Squall found himself empty. _

"_I'll be okay..."he whispered, with the little bit of 'self' he had left. _

"_I'll be okay...without you, sis..."_

_**Three Months Later...**_

"_I have something to tell you all." Matron addressed the small group of children before her. Hesitantly, they sat on the couch. All of them could see that there was something strained about her smile. _

_Squall barely looked up at the woman that he still cared for as he would a mother. He didn't even show reaction at her next words._

"_The...time has come," Matron said slowly, lacing her finger together. "You are all going to one of the Garden Military Academies."_

"_Military...?" Quistis breathed- blue eyes going wide. _

"_Yes," Matron said. "You, Quistis have some foster parents waiting for you in Balamb- the same with you Zell. You both shall be attending the Balamb Garden. Seifer-" she turned her head to the small, green-eyed boy. "You and Squall will be attending there as well, except you shall sleep in the dorm rooms." Matron's voice was rather raspy- as though it was taking all her effort to keep talking._

_Seifer rolled his eyes- presumably at the idea of him and Squall being anywhere together. But his eyes were also tight with an unreadable emotion as they stared at Matron. _

"_Selphie, you shall be going to the Trabia Academy. It's...very cold up there, so make sure you bring another coat. Irvine," She continued. "You are going to the Galbadia Academy. It very warm there..." She broke off suddenly. For a moment she seemed to struggle as she watched the faces of her children as they realized that they were being separated. _

"_In a few months, you'll take a boat to the continents you're going to. Selphie, you shall take the boat leaving in two months. Irvine, Quistis, Seifer, Zell, and Squall, you will all be taking the boat that leaves a week after Selphie's. You will arrive in Deling city-" _

_Squall froze in place. _

"_-within three weeks of your departure, and from there you will take a train to Balamb." _

_For the first time in what seemed to be eternity- Squall remembered that there were other things that mattered._

_**Three months Later...**_

_Squall glanced back behind himself for what felt like the hundredth time. Once again, there was no sign of anyone he knew. _

_He edged around the street corner- heart pounding at the thought that he was behind Rinoa's house. It hadn't been as hard as he had thought it would be, finding where she lived. All he had to do was ask where the Caraway residence was._

_He glanced up the side of the vine-covered wall. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed at the vines and edges in the bricks, pulling himself up and over the side of the wall. His heavy boots met grass, and he looked around quickly. There was no sign of anyone. _

_Squall stood, prepared to crouch and run if need be. He frowned slightly. This was where his plan had faltered. How was he supposed to find Rinoa without alerting anyone of his presence? He sighed, running a hand frustratingly over his forehead. His eyes fell upon a tree, a few feet away from one of the walls of the house. Struck with a sudden idea, he stuck his hand into his pocket, grabbing the pocketknife that had been a going-away present. _

_Squall smiled, fingering the blade slightly. But the smile did not last- for he had failed her. He could not save her now, he knew. But his determination returned. Maybe he couldn't save her today- but soon, Squall promised himself, soon, he would save her._

_Slowly, he began to walk over to the tree._

_Even through his gloves, he could feel the rough gentleness of the bark as he placed the tip of his knife into the tree._

_The words seemed to come to him effortlessly- and before long, he was scratching out his signature. Though it had not felt like a long time, he knew a few hours had passed. Stowing the knife in his pocket, he began to walk towards the wall- only to freeze as shouts greeted him. _

"_Stop right there!"_

_Men in uniform were running toward him from all sides. Vainly, he tried to escape. But before he knew it, hands closed around him, and he was being dragged across the grass and sidewalk. He kicked, punched, and bit, but none of the men seemed fazed. A car was parked at the gate- door open. He struggled against the hands again as he drew closer to the door._

"_SQUALL!"_

_He froze, surprised, giving the men opportunity to bring him to the door without his struggles. He propped his feet up on the sides of the car, vainly straining to look back at her as he shouted-_

"_Rinoa! I got your letter!" He pushed against the men more as fear consumed him- would he be forced to leave before he could see her face?_

"_I'm going away to Garden! Find my answer on the growth of seeds!"_

_He was able to turn his head and see a flash of her brown eyes, body being restrained by men as well. Her eyes shone for a moment as they met with his- and then the hands forced him into the car- and away from the last person that had ever given him hope._

_Someone was speaking to him- chastising him no doubt –but he wasn't listening. Squall stared brokenly out the window even after he could no longer see the house. Even after everything he had been through- it made no difference. No matter how he hoped and wished and smiled- it did nothing. In the end, the people that mattered would just be taken away. _

_And thus, Squall Leonheart resigned himself to a fate, alone._

_**Present Day**_

When he woke, the world was different.

The time and place and feeling- everything had changed. The sun was shining, but in a more lasting way. The leaves were a brighter green, the air was sweet- and he felt a strange peace.

Peace. He looked around at Rinoa, still sleeping softly. Slowly, he brushed back the hair that had fallen over her face.

Yes, he knew, this was peace.

But in the back of his mind, he felt the presence of a dark power.

And in the shadows, lurked a creature that was more that a single part.

The creature watched, and waited. Destiny had come.

_I believe in you  
I'll give up everything just to find you  
I have to be with you  
To live, to breathe  
You're taking over me... _

* * *

As far as the song goes (and why I had it in this chapter) I just thought it kind of fit. I'm actually pretty proud of this chapter- and yes, in Rinoa's letter the misspellings are intentional. 

Reviews!

Freyjadour: Thank you! I'm glad I was able to get across the seriousness of their situation. And I'm glad my OC is interesting- I never really thought I'd make one of those essential to a plot in any of my FF stories...

kaira4248: Thank you! I'm glad you love this story. Thanks for the information about NORG too. )

Rinny87: Thank you! Your review made me smile. Sorry I took so long (I shed a few tears as well), and I am happy that this one was up so much sooner. Thanks for the NORG info too- now I don't have to put him in this story! Yay!

KHfreak1992: Thank you! Better late than never! Yes, Squall really is opening up a lot more, and will keep doing so. I just hope I can keep him in character while doing that...

That's it for this chapter! Reviews make me smile inside!

Next Chapter Preview:

Defeat Me: Months have passed and still Quistis and the others are no closer to rescuing their teammates. But a realization comes to them- and the question is posed. How far are they willing to go to save their friends...? Meanwhile, Squall and Rinoa stumble across the same creature that landed them in this mess- and a battle for their lives begins. Can they possibly believe that destiny has come- and they will pull through?

Catch ya on the flip side-

AerithHeartilly


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